To Draw Closer
by daredyoutokissme
Summary: It was a night like any other. But somehow circumstances tangled until the unthinkable happened. And when it did, a shift occurred. Suddenly everything that could go wrong did go wrong. With nothing else to cling to, they had only each other.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I rated this story mature because it contains sexual scenes (though nothing explicit), some mildly coarse language, and incest. As it is explained in the story, there is no actual incest, but if you are going to be offended please do not read this story. Thank you so much.

* * *

"Not today, James." said Tayden. She turned away from him, but he put his hand on her elbow and moved around to face her.

"Please?" he begged. "I want you."

"No!" replied Tayden loudly. She lowered her voice. "Not today, okay? Sorry." The small brown haired Gryffindor sixth year shook herself out of James' grip. He looked forlornly after her and banged his head as if to clear it.

He and Tayden had gone on a few group dates to Hogsmeade, and it had led to more. They hadn't been on a real date yet, but James intended to fix that soon. Tayden was cute, and excellent at Quidditch ...and other things.

They were both chasers on the Gryffindor team, and he was captain. Pendleton had left last year, and Lily had taken his spot as seeker. Cousin Fred played keeper, and his sister Roxanne played chaser as well. Hugo had tried out, but he hadn't made the cut. They were all working hard, and it was already shaping up to be a great season.

His grades too, were shaping up pretty well. It was N.E.W.T. year and he was getting mostly acceptables, which was, well, acceptable. He was doing even better in Care of Magical Creatures and Defense against the Dark Arts. Not having classes with Tayden helped his focus a lot, although he and Fred couldn't help goof off sometimes.

As Tayden had rejected him so clearly, rather than sitting with her, James looked around for his dorm mates.

"James! My man!" yelled Jordan, slapping him five. James grinned, took a seat, and started piling his plate.

"'Choo score?" asked Liam, his mouth stuffed with food. James shook his head sadly, and then had to brush his messy hair out of his eyes.

"So none of us are getting lucky tonight?" asked Jordan. "Man, that sucks."

"Well, I am." smirked Kyle. James liked Kyle a little less than the others, because he was pretty good looking and fit. Really, who had abs like that? Not that James was looking at his abs. Of course. Kyle was especially irksome because he had almost beaten James out for Quidditch captain. Almost.

"Yeah, yeah, your hot blonde girlfriend." said Fred, rolling his eyes.

"What I want to know," added Brett seriously "is how you convinced her to sneak into our dorm every night. Getting up the girls' stairs is nearly impossible."

"That's why you need to get a Hufflepuff." replied Fred. "They don't even have a password."

"Wait they don't?" asked James "Wait how do you know that? Wait what?!" James stared at Fred, who uncharacteristically blushed.

"Cat's out of the bag now, my man." said Jordan, slapping Fred on the back. "Mr. Weasley here has finally hooked up with the charming Ms. Rowe." he explained.

"Dude, seriously?" asked James.

Fred finally looked up and grinned. "We didn't go quite that far. But yeah."

"Congrats!" replied James.

"No more whining about how you miss Rachel, then?" asked Brett. "Phew!"

The guys laughed and finished their lunch.

* * *

For the last class of the day, James had potions. It was a bad class to lose concentration in. Unfortunately, all he could think about was Tayden. He respected her, but she hadn't even given him an explanation. He had surprised her once before, and she had reacted enthusiastically, so he thought maybe it was time to try it again. Of course, it would take some planning.

"James, watch what you're doing!" hissed Olivia Harbottle, as some drops of his potion splashed onto her arm as he stirred a little too intensely. "Why is your potion purple anyway?"

James blinked. "What colour is it supposed to be?"

"Green!" said Olivia, surprised. James didn't usually do _this_ bad at potions. "We're making an Energizing Draught."

James glanced down at his page. "Whoops." he said, reading the title. "Elixir to Strengthen Crops." He looked helplessly at Olivia.

The red haired Ravenclaw sighed. They were fairly good friends. Her vibrant mane reminded him of his family, and she often helped him with his studies as well. "Sorry James, there's no way I can put that right. Besides, it's supposed to be bubbling vigorously, and yours is only managing to slightly ripple."

"I guess I'll pack up." said James. He cleaned up his work area and collapsed his cauldron. Then he asked Professor Jiggs if he could leave early. "I'm sorry Professor, I'm just really distracted. Can I go to the library and work on my essay?"

Professor Jiggs sighed. "Yes James, but next time whatever else is on your mind stays outside my classroom."

"Yes sir." said James, taking his exit. Rather than going to the library he ran up to the Gryffindor dorm and grabbed his broom. Flying would help clear his head.

As he started across the grounds James realised that he probably should have gotten the map back from Lily sooner. Because there was Professor Longbottom, waving to him from over by the pumpkin patch. Cursing, James strode over to meet him.

"Hi James! Do you want to help me? I've finally managed to infuse these pumpkins with Butterbeer, and I'm excited to see what the Pumpkin Juice we make from them will taste like."

James, whose attempts to explain that he was in a bit of a hurry had been shut down, sighed and squatted beside his parents' friend. "That doesn't sound like your usual work."

"No." said Neville cheerfully. "It was Hannah's idea. She's not a publican any more, but she can't stop these innovative thoughts some time. I'd show you how it works, but anyone skipping class probably doesn't want to do more learning."

James stared at him. Sure the teachers were smart, and sure they had magical powers, but Professor Longbottom was usually pretty oblivious, especially when he had Herbology to distract him. James decided to be honest. "I was just going for a fly, to clear my head."

"And that couldn't have waited until class was over?" asked Neville.

"Not really." replied James. "Er, am I in trouble?"

Neville chuckled. "You remind me too much of your father. He usually looked as though he needed to clear his head too, although he didn't often get the chance to do so." James nodded, and Neville continued. "But when he was determined to do something, it was best not to get in his way. I'm glad I learned that lesson early. So you go ahead."

James grinned. "Thanks. Does that mean I can always get by you?"

In spite of himself, Neville laughed. "Yes. But if you try it, I'll write your Dad. And-"

James interrupted. "It's best not to get in his way." They laughed.

"Also, I want that Quidditch trophy back from the Ravenclaws!" said Neville.

James waved, hopped on his broom, and shot into the sky. He did some loops and turns while he mused over his problem. Luckily flying came second nature, and didn't require nearly as much effort as potions.

If Tayden wouldn't talk to him at dinner, he would sneak into her dorm anyway. James smiled to himself as he pulled into a steep dive back to the ground, turning up just at the last second.

* * *

"Can I sit with you?" asked James. Tayden had a couple of friends with her, but that was no big deal.

"Sure! As long as you don't bring up what we talked about earlier." she replied sweetly.

"Can we talk about it later?" He asked, frustrated.

"Tomorrow." she said firmly. "Now sit down and shut up."

He did. Her fiery spirit, rather than putting him off, was what he loved most about her. Even when it was directed at him.

Tayden chattered on with her dorm mate Jenna, while Marissa sulked, pausing occasionally to glare at James. Tayden ignored this exchange. In fact, she ignored both of them completely until they had finished helping themselves to dessert. Then she produced a candle and stuck it in Marissa's piece of pie. Jenna lit it with her wand.

"Make a wish!" They chorused.

Marissa closed her eyes briefly and blew. "Thanks guys." The corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Uh yeah, happy birthday." added James.

Tayden hit him on the arm "It's not her birthday, idiot."

James, utterly confused, decided to shut up.

Whether that was the reason he got a kiss from Tayden at the end of the meal, he didn't know, but he felt slightly more hopeful about his plans.

James returned to the dorm. He grabbed some Polyjuice and extra clothes, then he waited. Shortly after eleven, he couldn't stand it any longer. Besides, if he waited too long, she'd be asleep. James stepped into the stairway and put a drop of Polyjuice on his tongue. Just enough to change for a couple of minutes. After adjusting to the small body, he crept down the stairs, disguised as an eleven year old Muggle girl he had had the opportunity to take some hairs from. Then after carefully crossing the common room, since a few people were still up, he went quickly up the girls' stairs. They would only be fooled for a short while, so he had to get up before they could change. He did, and waited outside the sixth year dorm until the potion had worn off. Then he entered.

Usually Tayden left a candle lit on so he could see, but tonight the new moon was making it pitch black. James carefully made his way across the room and crawled in. He smiled when she reached for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose closed her eyes, basking in the pleasure of the kiss. Sun streamed through the window of the empty classroom. She could even hear birds chirping in the background. It made it worse when the kiss was broken.

"We have to go Rosie. Prefects can't miss class." Scorpius looked into her eyes, withstanding her alluring stare.

"Later?" She asked slyly. Rose had no idea how he had managed to get her to be the naughty one. She had always been a stickler for rules.

"I can't, sorry." Scorpius truly did look upset, but he still put a finger on her pouting lips. "We can discuss it on the way to class. If we ever intend to tell our parents about each other, we have to be model students."

Rose sighed. "You're right. Let's away!" She said, with a flourish of her arm and a dramatic sweep out the door. Scorpius laughed and followed after her. Not many people got to see Rose's silly side, and he was grateful to be one of those lucky few.

"So?" Rose had relapsed to seriousness as the two sixth years walked hand in hand down the corridor.

Scorpius sighed "The guys want me to hang out." Rose raised her eyebrows. "Rosie, it's important to not anger your dorm mates. Or they'll put itching powder in your underwear."

"Itching powder?" asked Rose.

"Thank your Uncle George." replied Scorpius.

Rose rolled her eyes before speaking. "I understand, and I know not all of your friends approve of me. I simply don't understand why you have to hang out with them tonight. Free periods, Hogsmeade weekends, I make sure I'm not hogging all of your time. This is just some random night."

Scorpius nodded seriously. "I know. I'd rather be with you, but I already said no to them twice. Besides, I enjoy hanging out with the guys. Why don't you hang out with your friends?"

"I will. Tonight's a good night though. Not every night is." Rose replied.

Scorpius kissed her forehead. "Next time. I promise. And I'm sorry." he added, as he held open the door to the Charms classroom for her.

* * *

At dinner, Rose had to sit at the Gryffindor table while Scorpius sat with the Slytherins. This happened every day, but today she noticed it more than usual.

Her dorm mates were getting on her nerves a bit lately as well, so she went and sat beside Lily.

"Yo! It's Rosie." Lily hugged her cousin. "We're talking Quidditch."

"Oh. Maybe I should go." said Rose. She liked to watch her cousins play Quidditch and she supported the Cannons, but she wasn't much for strategy talk.

Roxanne leaned in. "We're talking boys who play Quidditch." she whispered confidentially.

"Rosie doesn't date Quidditch players." said Lily.

"I'm aware." replied Roxanne. "What do you see in him anyway?"

"Aw c'mon." said Lily, before Rose could reply. "Scorpi's nice."

"You can't call my boyfriend Scorpi!" interrupted Rose.

"Why? Is that what you call him?" pounced Roxanne.

"No!" said Rose. "It's just a horrible name."

"Scorpius? Yeah it is." agreed Roxanne.

Lily frowned at the two of them. "I call everyone that." she explained before the bickering could continue.

"You do not call everyone Scorpi!" cried Roxanne.

"No!" said Lily "Scorpi, Rosie, Roxie, Jamie, Alby, Freddy. You know."

"Oh yeah." said Rose. "Except Hugo."

Roxanne snickered. "Hugy."

They all burst into laughter.

* * *

"So when are you leaving?" asked Roxanne.

"She's not leaving!" said Lily.

"I'm not leaving." agreed Rose.

"Oh you're not shagging your boyfriend tonight?" asked Roxanne blatantly.

"Eww!" cried Lily "Roxanne! Rosie wouldn't... Rose? Why are you blushing?"

"Um..." Rose couldn't think of anything to say.

"Oh my gosh!" said Lily. "No way. No way." She stared at Rose, who felt her cheeks grow warmer. Then Lily burst out laughing and started rolling on the floor. "You! ...and him! ... and... mphffgrmph!"

Rose had clapped her hand over Lily's mouth. She kept it there while her cousin calmed down. Rose looked over at the dark skinned Roxanne. "You're both 14. What's wrong with her?"

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know, but she's going to have a ton of questions. You can go if you want. We'll forget the exploding snap."

"Thanks." replied Rose. "Although this is your fault." she called as she stepped out the portrait hole.

Rose made her way to the library. Studying would be peaceful after everything that had happened today. Rose was an excellent student. She was acing all of her classes, and she especially enjoyed Transfiguration and Arithmancy.

At the moment, Rose was attempting to get some of her work featured in _Transfiguration Today_. Muggle school had helped. Her mother had insisted that she and her brother attend, and Rose had found it extremely beneficial. She continued taking courses during the summers, and the result was that she was getting close to disproving an exception to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. So far she hadn't exactly produced any food, but close enough that she knew it was possible. The trick would be getting it too resemble actual food, and not just a nutritious brown sludge, which was what she had so far.

Rose pulled some books off of the shelves and sat down to get to work. Scorpius drifted into her mind once or twice. She quickly banished him, but not meanly. Rose knew that he loved her.

Finally, Rose managed to replicate the sludge she had created last week. She removed a piece with her wand and separated the ingredients. She decantered each one, and began to look through the pictures in a giant book, trying to match them.

Rose felt a hand on her shoulder and turned. It was Albus. "Impressive. I was watching from over there. You're certainly going places Rosie."

She started to smile at him but he sighed.

Rose knew how he was feeling. "Al. Really?"

"Look Rose, I know you think I look down on myself, but I don't. I just feel like I'm good at everything, but I'm not great at anything."

"You're a prefect." said Rose.

"That just means that out of a select few people, I was the least likely to cause trouble." replied Albus.

She nodded. She was proud to be a prefect, but it wasn't a _big_ deal.

"James is Quidditch captain, Lily's everyone's favourite. Mum was a star chaser for the Harpies and England, and Dad is the hero of the Wizarding World." said Albus.

"Yes." said Rose. "And look how your parents live. Avoiding the world in a cute little house in the country. Perfectly happy to pour their hearts into each other and their children. They'd rather raise chickens than sign autographs."

"I know Dad didn't like the fame, but that was because of what he was famous for. Dead parents and killing a guy. Mum loved it." replied Albus sadly.

"Okay." said Rose "Look at my Dad. He always felt overshadowed by his five brothers and he ended up being the most famous of them all. You'll do the exact same, I know it."

Albus nodded, but Rose could see he didn't believe her. "I just came over to tell you it's late. We're about to get kicked out."

Rose glanced at Madam Lawrence, who was watching them suspiciously. Rose quickly cleaned up while Albus packed up her books for her. They walked back to the common room and she waved at him as she climbed the stairs.

* * *

Rose had basically collapsed into bed with exhaustion, but once under the covers she couldn't fall asleep. She wanted Scorpius badly. Somehow, the stupid side of her brain took over and convinced her that he would come. Her dorm mates were all asleep, so she couldn't find solace in any of them. Then the door opened.

There he was, silhouetted against the lamp light that drifted up from downstairs. Rose wasn't sure how well he could see her, especially when he closed the door. But she heard him making his way towards her, and when he arrived she wrapped her arms around him happily.


	3. Chapter 3

It was perfect. Somehow, they went together better than they ever had before.

Usually she was too short, and he had to position himself awkwardly.

Sometimes she wished he would go faster. This time he did, and it was better than she had ever imagined.

Occasionally she could be a little overdramatic, but now, as she sweetly moaned, he decided he liked this even better.

Often she thought that he felt a little too rough, but tonight he felt smooth and wonderful.

She responded enthusiastically to his kissing, when usually she preferred him to kiss her elsewhere.

He was a little more attentive to her chest, and she thanked him for it.

She seemed to want to prolong it, rather than end it before he was ready.

He apparently had a little more stamina than usual, and held out until she was there.

He rode the wave of pleasure blissfully.

When he did she froze in sheer panic before her own sensations overcame her.

"I love you." he murmured.

"Damn! The condom broke." she replied.

"What? What's a condom?" he asked.

"What? You were wearing one weren't you?" she questioned.

"Are you okay? Is your potion having side effects?" he was worried.

"Potion? What potion?" she was momentarily too confused to panic.

"Uh, the birth control potion? Please tell me you took it?" he replied.

"What the hell?" she said "Can we turn on a light?" She reached for her wand "Lumos."

Their eyes widened as James and Rose took each other in.

"No. No. No. No." said Rose repeatedly.

James just swore.

"Tell me that did not happen." pleaded Rose. "What the hell were you doing?!"

"Me?! I was trying to shag my girlfriend? What the hell were you doing?!" cried James.

"I thought you were Scorpius!" Rose yelled. Fortunately, the one thing they had managed to do was put up a silencing charm.

"You didn't check?" said James.

"Who else would climb into my bed in the middle of the night?" hissed Rose. "Don't you know which bed is Tayden's?"

"We've only done it three times! It was dark, and I'm pretty sure we did do in this bed once!" replied James.

"You had sex in my bed?!" yelled Rose.

"Really?! That's what you're upset about?" shouted James sarcastically. "And what the hell is a condom?"

Rose stared at him and suddenly everything went black.

"Rose? Rose?" James shook his cousin, none too gently.

"James." said Rose quietly.

"Thank goodness." muttered James.

"James." Rose repeated.

"What?" asked James.

Rose closed her eyes. "We didn't use protection." she whispered.

"What?!" yelled James. "Don't you take a potion? Are you telling me you and Scorpius, Mr. and Mrs. Goody Two Shoes, don't use birth control?"

"We use condoms." replied Rose. "It's a Muggle thing, it er... goes over. He wears them, so I didn't have anything..."

James froze.

Rose started to cry.

Suddenly James jumped up and left. He ran out of the room without saying a word.

Rose couldn't even form a thought. She unlit her wand and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

"James! Yo, Jamie!" James little sister pounded incessantly on the dorm room door.

James pulled himself out of bed and dragged himself to the door. "What?" he said flatly.

"I don't know what's been going on with you for the past couple of weeks," replied Lily "but I'm not going to ask. You'd better get your act together before we go home for Christmas though. You missed a Quidditch game! Seriously?"

"Get out." James pointed his sister towards the door.

"I'm not trying to lecture you. Just saying. Anyway, I'm here because Rose wants to see you, and she's crying, so if you don't go I'll hex you." threatened Lily. "What'd you do to her?" she asked curiously.

James said nothing, but he followed his sister out of the door. She had a mysterious prowess with the bat bogey hex, and she was quickly mastering some others as well. James suspected that someone was giving her secret lessons, but he hadn't discovered who yet.

Lily led him through the castle, all the way up to the seventh floor and into an unused classroom. James was not looking forward to this discussion, and he cursed Rose for not allowing them to put it behind them.

She was sitting by the window, and indeed she was crying. She attempted to dry her tears with an already sopping wet handkerchief. "Thanks Lily."

Lily showed signs of wanting to stay, but James ushered her out. "This is private. Go far away. Thanks for not hexing me Lils."

"I haven't ruled it out!" she yelled as he closed the door in her face.

"I really don't want to do this." said James immediately.

"Neither do I." replied Rose softly. "But..."

"Yes?" asked James. If she didn't want to do this, why was she?

"I'm pregnant." The words fell heavy in the air, with no one to catch them. Tentatively, James reached out and touched one.

"Pregnant?"

Slowly Rose nodded.

"It's Scorpius'." said James.

Rose shook her head.

"Mine?" he asked.

"James! How many guys do you think I've slept with?!" she yelled.

James didn't hear this "You. Me. Baby. Father. Shit." he mumbled. "What do we do?"

"I don't know." replied Rose.

At this point Lily burst through the door. She seemed to have been trying to open it for quite a while now, and had finally succeeded.

"You had sex?!" she yelled, rounding on James, then on Rose. Unable to make up her mind, she swiveled between the two like a top.

"It was an accident." said James stupidly. He shouldn't have said anything, because Lily finally made up her mind and turned on him. A stream of hexes shot out of her mouth.

James lay knocked out on the floor twitching. He seemed to be covered in patches of fur, pustules, hair, tentacles, and everything in between. His untidy black hair was now streaked with green and silver.

Lily, having ended her tirade, went over to sit beside Rose. "What happened?" she demanded.

Rose started to cry again, and Lily's heart broke. She wrapped her arms around her cousin.

"It was an accident." began Rose. Slowly, she told Lily most of the story. Lily was the baby of the family, and she really didn't need to know every detail of how sex worked in order to understand the story.

"And you're having a baby. Wow." whispered Lily. "I'm going to be an aunt."

Rose didn't bother to correct that statement. Not that Lily wouldn't be an aunt, but... circumstances were kind of unusual, and Rose had no idea what would happen.

* * *

Lily had removed most of her spellwork from James, but she left his hair streaked with Slytherin colours as a reminder not to mess with her. The three of them were now sitting in Lily's empty dorm.

"I can't believe this." said Lily. "Bloody hell!"

"Lils! You never swear." replied James, aghast.

"And I never thought my brother would have sex with my cousin and best friend." replied Lily. "It seemed like the appropriate time." she added.

Rose, who was cradling her stomach, didn't seem to hear.

"What's the plan?" asked Lily.

"There isn't one." said James. "Do you have a plan for if Hugo gets you pregnant?"

"Eww!" shrieked Lily "Gross! No!"

"We can't hide it." said Rose. "They'll all have to know."

"Can we let them decide?" asked James.

"No." said Rose. "This is our stupid mess. But we don't have to do anything until we see what they say."

James nodded. "Shouldn't we make sure though?

Rose scoffed. "Who do you want me to ask? Aunt Hannah?"

"Oh, right." replied James.

"We'll just go home for Christmas, and we'll each tell our parents." said Rose.

"What if they kick us out?" asked James.

"They wouldn't!" cried Lily.

"Let's hope not." said Rose darkly.

* * *

Author's Note: So my idea for this story was for Rose and James to have sex, but in a way that made sense with cannon. (I realize James was recently confirmed as being two years older than Rose and Albus, but I wrote this before that happened, and I think it works better here anyway.) I know my summary didn't give a very good explanation of the story, but I didn't want to give away these first three chapters. Hopefully you have a good idea of what the story is about by now. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

James wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but somehow he had ended up sharing a compartment with Tayden on the train ride back to London. He hadn't been able to think of a good reason to avoid her, and he certainly wasn't about to tell her. She'd have to know eventually of course. James was not looking forward to that. He didn't know if she would tell anyone, but rumours always got around. It was unlikely that something bigger than the Gryffindor Quidditch captain impregnating his Prefect cousin would happen to distract people from it.

Although, if he didn't finish school, gossip wouldn't be James' problem. He knew his life was about to change drastically, but he had no idea where it was headed. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Tayden. "Are you still mad at me?"

"I'm not mad." replied James. "I'm confused, but that's not why I was sighing."

"I'm sorry, but Marissa had just broken up with her boyfriend. The last thing she needed was to know someone else was doing it in the next bed. We were having a girls' night to cheer her up." Tayden explained.

"That's what was with the candle." realized James.

"Yeah. It's our thing." said Tayden. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you."

James looked at her. "Tayden..."

"Uh oh. What?" she asked suspiciously.

"I... we... we need to break up." James blurted it out. "I'm not mad at you. I like you! But ...some things have happened and... well it's just not going to work."

"It's not me it's you? Please, just tell me what's bothering you. It's been two weeks since we had a proper conversation. You've been hiding in your dorm and moping around. Talk to me James." begged Tayden.

"I... I can't." replied James. "It's, er, family stuff. Yeah."

"Will you ever be able to tell me?" she asked.

James thought about that. "I guess you'll know eventually. But it's just better if we break up now, rather than... when you find out."

She turned away. "This is too bad. I really like you James. We haven't even had a first date."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. I'm so stupid!" He grabbed fistfuls of his hair.

"I have no idea what's going on." said Tayden "But if you can't tell me, I guess it's best to break up, at least for now, if that's what you want."

"It's not what I want!" cried James "But it's what we need. Besides, you'll hate me! I... I have to go." he left the compartment and made his way to the other end of the train. A group of first years looked at him in shock as he burst into their compartment, but he sat down and stared out the window, and they tentatively resumed their chatter.

Stupid first years. They were so young. They didn't have problems like this, and they probably never would. James wanted to hate them, but he didn't have it in his heart. So he leaned back and tried to fall asleep.

How could this have happened? He had thought about being a young father before, and he had done everything he was supposed to do to prevent that from happening. But it seemed impossible that he had managed to crawl into bed with his cousin, and neither of them had checked that the other had protection, or even what their identities were? It could only have been fate. And fate was cruel.

* * *

Rose had mixed feelings about going home.

She was glad to be away from Scorpius. She hadn't spoken to him much. Prefect duties increased before Christmas, and she had thrown herself into them. Scorpius was a prefect too, but she worked mainly with Albus, who was the other prefect from Gryffindor sixth year.

Albus was good to work with, but these last weeks his main job had been trying to get Rose to let up on chewing out the other students. "Rose," he said carefully once "I understand that you're stressed out, but you've docked over 800 points in a week." She had become such a terror that the first year students had begun to run away when they saw her coming. Albus had managed to restrain her from chasing them down.

Although Rose was glad to leave Scorpius and her tormentees, she was even more nervous about what was to come. She hoped her parents would be understanding about the pregnancy, but how could they ever understand that the father was her cousin?

Rose had thought hard about what she would say. She didn't want to end up trying to defend herself or justify what had happened, because she knew it was wrong and she was disgusted by it. But she still needed her parents to support her. Victoire and Teddy were practically cousins, weren't they? No one had a problem with their relationship.

The problem was, although Teddy and Victoire likely were distantly related, they weren't really blood. Rose knew about the complications that could arise from an incestuous pregnancy, and she was so afraid of what this baby might be.

For now however, she had banished her fear, about her parents reactions, the problems the baby might have, what could happen to her during pregnancy, and everything that had been running through her mind for the last two weeks.

It was necessary to do this as she was sharing a compartment with Lily, Roxanne, and Lucy, and she really didn't want anyone else to know.

The door opened. "Hey." said Valerie Wilder, Lucy's best friend and fellow Hufflepuff "Can we borrow Lucy?"

"Yeah just a second Val."

The other girl with Valerie introduced herself. "Hi. I'm Hayley."

"Hi Hayley!" chirped Lily "I like your hair!"

Hayley patted her bun. "Thanks." A braid swept down the side of her head and tucked into the chiffon.

"That would look great on you Rose!" decided Lily.

"Hmm?" asked Rose "Oh, yes."

Roxanne narrowed her eyes at this.

Lucy had finally rounded up her stuff. "Bye!" She followed Valerie and Hayley down the corridor.

"Rose, what's up with you?" asked Roxanne immediately.

"Er, nothing. I'm just tired." mumbled Rose.

"Rosie." said Roxanne "You're tired, you don't pay any attention to the conversation, you keep cradling your stomach, you're avoiding Scorpius, and that was you I heard throwing up in the bathroom wasn't it? Are you pregnant?"

Rose nodded. There was no reason to lie, Roxanne would know soon enough.

"Do you want me to kill him?" she asked, dead serious.

"No!" said Rose. "No."

Roxanne turned to Lily. "You knew about this!" she exclaimed.

Lily's eyes widened. "Rosie! You're pregnant?"

Roxanne bopped Lily on the arm. "Nice try. I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"I don't want to talk about it." interrupted Rose. "Please?"

"Oh Rosie." said Roxanne softly. She crossed the compartment and hugged her cousin. Lily did the same. And Rose cried in their arms.

* * *

The Welcome Home Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Weasley's was held the next day, Monday. It was awkward for both James and Rose. They had agreed to break the news at ten in the morning on Tuesday. That meant so far, everyone was blissfully unaware and in good spirits.

"Okay!" said Hermione, once they had stuffed themselves with three kinds of pie. "Secret Santa time."

The sizable number of relatives and the limited funds of certain members of the family had resulted in the gift exchange. Everyone got presents for their immediate family and Molly and Arthur, but everyone also had one other person to purchase for, the person they drew in the gift exchange.

Hermione came around with a Santa hat with the names of the kids, while Audrey brought over the one for the adults. The sisters-in-law had worked together to set this event up.

Everyone took a name (or more, if they drew siblings or spouses that had to be put back). Rose didn't bother to look at hers. It had already been a long night.

She was exhausted by the time they Flooed home. She was extremely grateful that Flooing didn't hurt the baby, because that would be hard to explain. James had shot her a look as she climbed into the fireplace, but she gave him a minute shake of the head.

When they arrived, Rose collapsed into bed. She didn't even have time to lie awake worrying about the morning.

* * *

Author's Note: I had originally intended for that Secret Santa bit to become something more, but I decided that it did nothing for the plot. So anyone who is waiting to discover it's significance, sorry to disappoint.


	5. Chapter 5

James was a different story. He managed to fall asleep quickly, thanks to an excess of eggnog, but he awoke before dawn and his eyes refused to close again. He had no idea what his parents would say, but for once in his life he knew it was time to do exactly as he was told.

James decided to go out to the deck to watch the sunrise. It was a very un-James-like thing to do, but he had never gotten up that early before, so he probably wasn't thinking straight. To his surprise Albus was already there.

"James? Are you okay? Do you know what time it is?" asked Albus concernedly.

"Too early." mumbled James sleepily. "What are you doing out here?

"Working." replied Albus. "It's peaceful. But what are you doing here?"

"Watching the sunrise." replied James. He took a seat. "I wanted to see one while I was still a free man."

"What'd you do this time?" asked Albus. He was used to James' exploits, especially as Al was usually on the butt end of them.

James didn't reply.

"James? Whatever you did to me, there is still time to redeem yourself." said Albus.

"It's not you." said James cryptically.

"You could tell me anyway." suggested Albus.

"No. And you'll hate me." replied James.

Albus sighed. James had been out of sorts these past few weeks, and although he could be a pain, James was still his brother.

"Did you try to fix it?" asked Albus.

"I'm working on it." said James. "But it can't be fixed."

"Here." said Albus finally. "Whatever it is, I promise not to hate you, or even get mad."

James looked at his brother. "Thanks." he said slowly. After all the pranks, James couldn't see how his brother could say that. He wouldn't tell Al this, but he was really a good kid.

Albus returned to work while James watched the sky. A strip of pale blue appeared on the horizon and crawled over the sky. Just as the glowing yellow orb appeared, the clouds took on a pink tinge. Slowly light covered the land. They sat in silence for hours.

"It's beautiful." said James finally.

Albus looked at James strangely. "It is." he replied.

* * *

James braced himself. He knocked on the door of the study.

"Come in." called Harry.

James did. He sat down. "Dad? ...I have to tell you something." At his words, Harry stopped what he was doing and turned to face James. To his surprise he saw tears brimming in his eldest child's eyes.

"Okay." he replied.

"I... I sort of had sex." said James, looking at the floor. "With my girlfriend."

Harry waited, but James didn't continue. "Did you want to talk about that?" asked Harry, hoping the answer was no.

"No!" replied James. "But we did er, it, more than once, and er, well one time she didn't want to. I mean, she did, but she er, said she couldn't." He paused again.

"And you respected that?" asked Harry who really had no idea what was going on.

"Yes, well er, no. I did before but this time was different, so I thought I'd er, surprise her, sort of. I mean if she had said no then then I would have. Respected her I mean. But I went to her dorm to see. Er, well it was dark and I er, got the wrong bed." explained James.

"I see." said Harry, who didn't see at all.

"Well it was er, Rose's bed." said James quickly.

"Okay..." replied Harry.

"But well, she was er, waiting for her boyfriend, and she thought I was him."

Harry struggled to put the pieces of this strange tale together. "You had sex with Rose." he realized finally.

James nodded.

Harry sighed, and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Well James, that's very unfortunate, and I'm extremely disappointed in you. However, you're of age now. You really don't need to confess everything to me." said Harry, in an attempt to deflect future awkward conversations. "You're always welcome, but some things you'll have to handle by yourself. Anyway, what's done is done. It's probably best if you and Rose just forget about it."

At this a tear finally slipped down James' cheek. "Dad... Rose is going to have a baby."

His words hung in the air. Harry fell back in his chair flabbergasted. He didn't speak for a long time.

"...You're sure?"

James nodded sadly. "She says so. I thought we should check and make sure that she is and it's mine and everything, but she has to tell Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron before she can go to the hospital..."

"And they would have told your Mum and I." finished Harry. "Oh James."

James finally started to cry. Harry felt like joining him. "I'm sorry Dad. I know that it's supposed to be my fault because I wasn't careful enough, and I'm supposed to have a plan to support this baby, but I was careful, so I don't have a plan. I just wasn't careful in the right ways, I guess. And Rose and I never made a plan because no one plans to have a baby with their cousin, and I don't know what to do!" He gave this speech as a long garbled chain of mixed words and sobs.

Harry laid his head in his hands. "Let's go tell your mother."

He and James walked downstairs, where Ginny was washing dishes. She smiled at them, then raised her eyebrows.

Harry gave James a poke, and James took a deep breath. "Mum? Rose and I had sex. Accidentally. And she's pregnant." It was best to get it out fast before she could start yelling.

Ginny dropped a plate. "What did you just say?" Harry went over to comfort her, but she held up a hand to stop him.

"Rose and I had sex and she's pregnant."

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU HAD SEX WITH YOUR COUSIN AND SHE'S PREGNANT? HAVEN'T WE TAUGHT YOU ANYTHING? AND HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY BE AN ACCIDENT? OUT OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS YOU'VE DONE THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST IDIOTIC AND I THOUGHT WE RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THIS AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FAMILY IS GOING TO SAY? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS GOING TO DO TO YOU'RE FATHER HE'S UNDER ENOUGH STRESS AT WORK AS IT IS AND YOU'D BETTER HOPE THIS ISN'T A JOKE OR SO HELP ME I WILL GROUND YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE YOUNG MAN-"

The rant continued, but Harry had restrained Ginny when she had started to advance on James with a frying pan, and he had ushered James out of the room.

* * *

There was a knock on James bedroom door. "Come in." said James. It was Albus and Lily.

"Yo Jamie! The cat's out of the cauldron now isn't it?" said Lily.

"This is what you were talking about?" asked Albus, who had obviously heard the shouting minutes earlier. The neighbours had probably heard it, which was pretty telling, because if you wanted neighbours, plural, you had to go at least a kilometre away to the nearest town, as the only one closer to the Potter's quiet country home lived by himself and raised geese.

"Yes. And you hate me." said James flatly.

"No." said Al. "I considered it, as this certainly wasn't what I imagined when I pardoned you, but I really don't. I mean, I hate to say it, but every time you mess up it makes me look better."

"Yeah," agreed James bitterly "you're definitely the favourite son right now."

Albus ignored this. "Lily told me what happened. It's crazy. I mean, I've never done it, so I don't really know, but I doubt if I would have double checked identities first. Of course, now it's top of my list."

James chuckled ruefully.

"Have they said much yet?" asked Lily.

"No." replied James. "Rose is telling Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, and then they'll probably come over here and kill me, if Mum doesn't beat them too it."

"Mum will be okay." said Albus. "I'm worried about Dad. It's harder to be supportive than angry. Every time you pull something he has a few more grey hairs."

James, who hadn't noticed this, suddenly felt a pang of regret.

"But Grandpa's okay. And he had two troublemakers to worry about." said Lily.

"Oh, because neither of you ever cause any trouble?" said James sarcastically.

"Grandpa wasn't Head Auror." explained Albus. "He had some hard years during the war, of course, but he didn't have to wake up and deal with it every day. Dad needs to retire, or at least take a long vacation."

"We could do that!" said Lily.

"I think Dad's going to have to deal with some bigger stuff first." replied Albus "We'll leave you alone now James."

As they got up to leave there was a call from the kitchen. "James? Could you come down here please?"


	6. Chapter 6

At exactly ten o'clock, Rose found her mother in the garden. "Mum." Rose sobbed out the word.

"Rose? Sweetie? What's wrong?" Hermione looked up worriedly. She ushered her daughter over to the garden swing.

"Mum. ...I'm pregnant."

Hermione gasped. "Oh, Rose! You... really? How?"

Rose took her mother's hand. "Well, I've been dating someone. I was going to tell you, soon."

"And you're... active?" replied Hermione.

"Yes. And we used condoms, like you suggested, so I wouldn't have to take the potion every day. And we were so, so careful." said Rose. She needed her mother to understand; to take her side.

"But?" asked Hermione.

"He's not the father." whispered Rose.

"Oh, sweetheart! ...Were you raped?" asked Hermione. She felt horrible asking the question.

"No. Mum, there was a mistake. My boyfriend said we couldn't that night, but then he came anyway, or I thought he did. And Tayden told her boyfriend she couldn't that night, but he came anyway, and I guess he got the wrong bed." said Rose.

"I don't understand." said Hermione.

"Tayden's boyfriend and I..." Rose trailed off.

"Oh. I'm sorry sweetie. But he didn't have protection either?"

"She takes the potion."

Hermione nodded as she took this in. "Er, you seem awfully upset Rose. Is there something else? Who's Tayden's boyfriend? I promise, your father and I won't be too mad at him, even if it's oh, I don't know. Scorpius say."

Rose blanched. Wow, that had hurt. But it didn't matter anymore.

"Tayden's boyfriend is James." she said softly.

Hermione stared at Rose. Then she ran into the house without saying another word.

Rose sat outside shocked. She had known that there would be a reaction, but she hadn't known what it would be, so she hadn't been able to prepare herself.

Knowing it was time to face her parents, she headed inside to meet her fate.

Hermione was banging around upstairs. "Ron! Ron!" she called frantically, crying. Rose cursed. She had hoped her mother would be able to calm her father, but by the sounds of it her Mum was just going to tell on her.

It took a minute, but her Dad came thundering down the stairs, her Mum following meekly in his wake. Rose was surprised actually; that she had managed to reduce Hermione to that state. Her Mum wasn't tough as nails like Aunt Ginny, but she could usually stand up for herself and put Ron in his place.

"ROSE!" bellowed Ron. "Come on, we are going to your Aunt and Uncle's right now to figure this out." He went over to the fireplace, threw in a huge handful of Floo Powder, and pushed Rose in.

* * *

James ran downstairs as fast as he could. No need to anger them further. He arrived to a strange scene. His Dad was giving a Rose a one armed hug, and it looked like he was basically supporting her as well. His other arm was occupied keeping up a shield charm between Ron and Ginny, who looked ready to rip out each other's throats. Hermione was balled up in a corner sobbing.

James quickly took control of the shield charm, allowing his Dad to usher Rose into a chair before going over to Hermione. Harry helped her up and laid her on the sofa. Then he cleared his throat. "Ron, would you attend to your wife please? Ginny, can we just sit and discuss this calmly?"

Ginny glared at him but she took a seat.

"Explain what happened exactly." said Harry.

Slowly, Rose and James each told their side of the story, while Harry shushed the interruptions. "Okay. Obviously, this is a rather strange situation. You both feel like you did, if not all you could, at least all you thought you had to do. So, although it's hard to say that it's your faults, it can't really be anyone else's. But no matter how we look at it, Rose is going to have a baby, and James is going to be a father."

"Exactly," said Ginny. "Which is why we need to treat this like we would any other teen pregnancy."

"You want them to get married?" asked Ron, repulsed.

"No. But they made an adult decision to have sex. Non-withstanding that they didn't choose each other as partners, they need to begin their lives as adults so they can support this baby." replied Ginny.

"Well, that's one idea." said Harry, who seemed determined not to take sides. "Anyone else?"

Rose looked at her parents, and her favourite Aunt and Uncle. They were each reacting differently to this, but the one emotion she seemed to get from all of them was a sort of tiredness. They had already been through so much. This was supposed to be their happily ever after. Rose felt horrible.

"Yes," said Rose. "Aunt Ginny's right. This is our problem. We're grateful for your help and support, but we need to solve this on our own."

James looked stunned.

Harry looked at her. "Are you sure, Rose? I know everyone seems a little tense, but we're here for you."

"No, Rose, you're coming to stay with your mother and me, so you can stay out of trouble. You don't need to be under the influence of this bastard." ordered Ron.

"What did you just call my son?!" shouted Ginny.

"He defiled my daughter!" yelled Ron. "You believe these lies about 'getting the wrong bed?' Yeah right!"

"Ron, if you can't be calm, you need to leave." said Harry firmly.

"Of course he can't be calm. The only one who's allowed to actually do anything sexual is him!" shouted Ginny.

"We're leaving!" replied Ron. He lifted up Hermione and stepped towards the fireplace. "Rose!"

Rose shook her head. "I can't."

"Fine!" shouted Ron. He exited.

Ginny marched over to the kids. "You can stay here tonight Rose. Tomorrow I expect you both to be gone. You're going to be adults, and you're going to start now." She marched away.

"I'm sorry kids. I don't know what's going on." said Harry. "It might be best if you two left while I try to figure things out. You might want to start packing and planning, and I'll give you some money." he followed Ginny out.

Rose and James stood there, unsure of what had just happened, but aware that by tomorrow morning they would both be homeless.

* * *

Author's Note: I know these are some pretty strong and possibly somewhat out of character reactions. I hope to explain them properly in due time.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Hey everybody. I'd really love to get some reviews for this story. Say whatever you want. Also there's an excellent chance that if you review my story I'll review one of yours. As always, thanks for reading.

* * *

"I can't believe you told them we'd just look after ourselves!" said James angrily. "You're not even of age. What are we supposed to do?!"

"I don't know!" replied Rose. "But I felt bad for them. They've had enough problems."

"Them! What about us?" asked James. "Look, I can't do this. It was your idea, you figure it out." He started shoving some of his things into an old rucksack. "I'm leaving now."

Rose stood aside as he walked out the door to his bedroom. She wanted to cry, but she needed to be strong. For the baby, she told herself. She dug around in James' night table until she found some parchment and a quill.

"To do." Rose said as she wrote. She began jotting down ideas.

* * *

First she had to go home and pack. She tiptoed downstairs and Flooed home. She managed to round up everything she needed before her parents saw her.

Next she Flooed to Diagon Alley. Stepping through the brick wall brought back so many memories. But Rose pushed them aside. She had to focus. She entered Gringotts. Her Mum and Dad had set up a separate account for her within their vault.

"Hello. I'm Rose Weasley, and I'd like to transfer my account to a new vault. Then I'd like to make a withdrawal." she said with false confidence. She wasn't sure if that was allowed, especially since she was only sixteen.

"Of course. You are aware that this transfer will stop the monthly deposits from Ronald and Hermione Weasleys' account into yours?" replied the goblin.

"I understand." said Rose.

"Do you have your key?" Rose handed it to him. "We will be going to your new vault, number 651."

They climbed into one of the rickety carts, and after a vomit-inducing ride, they arrived at Rose's new vault.

There was a good amount of money in it, but Rose knew that once school was over, it wouldn't last long if she didn't get a job. She collected some of the Galleons, and thanked the goblin.

Back in Diagon Alley, Rose decided that her next stop needed to be St. Mungo's. She returned to the Leaky Cauldron and Flooed there.

* * *

Nervously, she approached the Welcome Witch. "Hi. How do I find out if I'm pregnant, and get a check up on that?" whispered Rose. The press was always lurking in St. Mungo's. When Rose had broken her leg riding a tricycle when she was three it had made the Daily Prophet.

"Name."

"Rose Weasley."

The witch glanced up curiously, but said nothing. "Sit over there and you'll be called shortly."

Rose took a seat, but was called almost immediately. She followed the healer into a small room, and climbed onto the bed.

"Hi Rose. I'm Healer Padma. I know your parents actually."

Rose's eyes widened. Upon seeing this, Padma smiled gently at her. "Don't worry Rose, we have total patient healer confidentiality. But do your parents know?"

"Yes." replied Rose. She said nothing more.

Padma frowned but didn't pry. "Okay first let's just check that you're pregnant. Padma waved her wand. "Mmmhmm. Well Rose, for better or for worse, you are indeed pregnant. What else were you hoping to find out today?"

"I don't know." replied Rose. "Whatever you can tell me, I guess. No more surprises. I want to be prepared."

Padma smiled. "Okay then. You lie down and I'll see what I can find out."

Rose closed her eyes while Padma lifted Rose's shirt and began checking her over. Finally she finished.

"You can sit up now." said Padma. "Alright Rose, now you wanted to know everything I can tell you, right?"

"Yes." said Rose. She had always been a plan ahead kind of girl, and after the shock of a lifetime she wasn't taking any chances.

"You are almost four and a half weeks along." said Padma. Rose nodded. "Now Rose, this might be a bit of a shock, but you are pregnant with twins."

Rose went pale. Padma clasped the teen's hand. "It's okay. There are a few differences with having twins, but we're going to make this experience as problem free as possible for you. Now your due date is August 25th. However, with twins we tend to induce pregnancy at 37 weeks and there is a good chance that because you are so young and rather small physically, the babies will be born early anyway. It happens all the time and we'll make sure that they are perfectly healthy before you take them home. Now, I have some good news and some bad news."

"Bad news." decided Rose.

"The babies appear to have a few health problems. Normally, such problems wouldn't appear so early, unless it was somehow related to conception." said Padma carefully. She knew the cause, but in order to do her job as a healer, she needed Rose to trust her.

Rose hesitated. "You can't tell anyone."

"I won't." said Padma seriously.

"Thank you." said Rose. She took a deep breath. "The father is my cousin."

"Okay." said Padma. "It's a little too early to tell exactly what the problems are, but I want you to come in for weekly checkups."

"I'm going back to school in a few weeks." said Rose.

"Right. Then we will attempt to arrange for you to come in, oh, every five weeks, perhaps. Your weekly checkups can be with Madam Longbottom, so you don't have to leave school so often."

"Alright." said Rose. "What's the good news?"

"You are having one boy and one girl." said Padma.

Rose smiled slightly. The whole thing was pretty messed up, but she sort of felt warm at the thought of two little lives growing inside of her; a boy and a girl.

"You can tell that already?"

"Well, they aren't even partially developed yet, so there's plenty of time for me to be proven wrong, but I can tell that that's what they're angling towards right now." explained Padma. "We can detect these things with magic."

Padma asked Rose several questions. Was she taking medication, was she smoking, was she drinking alcohol or coffee? Rose answered in the negative. Padma then warned her that there were some ingredients she would need to avoid during Potions class, and advised her to start drinking plenty of water.

"I have several things for you." continued Padma. "Here is your prescription for prenatal potion, and here are some information packets. This one discusses what you should and shouldn't be eating. This one goes over pregnancy week by week, and this one has a checklist of all the things to do before the big day. You can look through those while I contact Professor Vector for you."

"Thank you." replied Rose. Padma left and Rose began flipping through the material. _Week Five: Baby is as big as an apple seed. Its major organs are starting to form. Expect sore breasts, nausea, and fatigue._ she read.

Padma returned shortly and informed Rose that she had set everything up with the Headmistress and Hannah. "So, I'll see you in five weeks Rose." said Padma.

Rose collected her things and walked back down the corridor. She paused for a moment before entering the foyer, and then stepped forward to begin the rest of her life.


	8. Chapter 8

New Year's day, Rose returned to school. While her fellow classmates were nursing firewhiskey hangovers or talking excitedly about who they had kissed at midnight, Rose prepared herself for the conversations she would soon be having.

First, Rose knocked on the door of the Headmistresses office. She was a little nervous. Rose, sharing Professor Vector's favourite subject and being a prefect, was quite close with the Headmistress, but abstaining from sex was an unwritten rule at Hogwarts, and Rose was concerned that she would be in trouble, or at the very least Professor Vector's opinion of her would change.

"Come in." called Septima. Rose did so. "Ah, hello Rose. Have a seat." Again, Rose obeyed. "Now, obviously, we're both aware that your behaviour of late has not quite been up to the standards that I felt you were capable of. However, I understand that this is a difficult time for you, and I am certain that you are not the only student breaking a rule or two, or even the only prefect. So that leads me to your current situation. Madam Longbottom has graciously agreed to see you once a week, and in fact seemed rather excited about the opportunity to further her training. It has also been arranged for you to have regular appointments at St. Mungo's. May I ask when the due date is?"

"August 25th, but they said probably earlier." answered Rose.

Septima pondered this. "Alright then it will be possible, although perhaps not practical, for you to continue until the end of term. What are your intentions regarding the matter?"

"I'd like to finish the year, and return next year, if I can." replied Rose.

"We will do our best to accommodate you, if you do your best to accommodate us." promised Septima. "However, as Headmistress, the well-being of every student is one of my numerous duties. I am concerned that you may have a rather strenuous time if you intend to continue with your current workload."

Rose nodded. She had considered this already. "I intend to drop Potions."

Septima surveyed the girl. "That could affect your work with Gamp's Law."

"I know." replied Rose. "But I can't safely take it anyway as it could affect babies."

"Of course." Septima realised. "Additionally Rose, I was wondering if you might want to relinquish your prefect duties. I know that it is your ambition to become Head Girl, but there is no rule that the Head Girl must have been a prefect for both years. If you behave impeccably from this point forward, and continue to be a prominent figure within the school, your chances would only be slightly lessened. Assuming you return next year."

Rose considered this offer. "Who would take my place?"

"That is for Professor Longbottom to decide. However as there are no seventh year prefects anyway, it would not affect the balance." explained Septima.

"I'd like to continue, but I have to do what's best for my children." decided Rose.

"I understand. Now perhaps it is a good time for you to go and see Madam Longbottom, but I have one further question." Septima paused.

"The father." said Rose pre-emptively.

"I'm afraid so. Simply because I need to know if he will be requiring the same opportunities that have been offered to you." replied Septima.

"He won't, but the father is James Potter." said Rose. "I-"

Septima interrupted her. "You don't have to explain Rose. I know who you are, and whether this was a mistake or not, it won't change my opinion of you. But it does explain why I received a letter earlier claiming James wouldn't be returning to school." she mused.

"He – He's not coming back?" asked Rose.

"Apparently not. But you run along." Septima waved Rose towards the door, and Rose left quickly, pondering this new piece of information.

* * *

"Hi Rose!" said Hannah cheerfully. "Climb up here. I'll be back in a minute." She returned momentarily. "Okay week seven, huh? Let's have a look." Rose lay back and Hannah performed several complicated wand motions. "You can sit up. I'm detecting similar things to the report you got at your hospital visit. Still one boy and one girl, with possible health problems that cannot yet be identified. There's no need for you to worry about that, as many problems either are harmless, have no lasting effect, or can be easily treated."

"So why am I here?" asked Rose.

Hannah just laughed. "Well, nothing's new with babies, but something could be new with Mummy. Nausea?"

"Yep."

"There are potions for that of course, but if it's not too debilitating it's best if we leave it alone, especially in your condition. You let me know. Fatigue?" Rose just nodded, figuring the bags under her eyes were evidence enough. "Sore breasts? Cravings? Weird dreams?" Rose nodded like a bobble head. "All to be expected." said Hannah. "Well, if you're still taking your potion and drinking plenty of water, there's not much else I can tell you. Any questions?"

"When will it sink in?" asked Rose. "I feel like I'm living someone else's life."

Hannah nodded. "Well, it's different for every mother, and I've never experienced it myself, but there are some milestones that can help you to come to terms with it. When you first feel the baby move inside you, for example. Don't worry Rose, that's why you have nine months to get ready."

"But I don't have nine months."

Hannah smiled. She seemed awfully cheerful, thought Rose. "You know, I reckon that you'd be okay with even just five or six. It's the fathers that need nine months to prepare themselves." In spite of herself, Rose laughed a little at that.

"So, see you next week!" said Hannah. "Or any time really. I'll be here."

* * *

Rose fell asleep before dinner, so Lily brought her a plateful. "Rosie! You can't skip meals. It's bad for the babies."

"Uggh." said Rose groggily. "I know. I fell asleep."

"You missed Christmas, but your Dad made up some lame excuse." Lily randomly informed her.

"Yeah. Oh, I guess my pick for secret Santa didn't get their present." remembered Rose.

Lily nodded. "Where's James anyway? What happened after you came over? Mum put an imperturbable charm on the living room door, so we had no idea."

"Well." said Rose, quickly deciding what to reveal. "My mum had a meltdown, and then we came over to er, discuss I guess. Your mum suggested that we both move out and start living as adults, and I agreed, and then my Dad said some rude things about James, and your dad was trying to keep the peace, but everything went ballistic, and we got kicked out and James split."

Lily stared "Whoa. Then what?"

"A lot, but mostly I went to St. Mungo's, and then I stayed with my distant cousin Sophie at her flat. We were close when we were younger." explained Rose.

"She didn't tell?" asked Lily.

"She couldn't tell, because unbeknownst to her mother, Sophie's boyfriend is living with her." said Rose.

"Sneaky!" laughed Lily.

"Yeah, I didn't know that when I went there, but it was pretty much her or nothing." said Rose.

Lily nodded. "What about Jamie?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him. But I found out today that he isn't coming back." said Rose.

"What?!" shrieked Lily. "Mum's going to freak. Where is he?"

"Good question. But he left me, so it's not my problem." said Rose, trying to sound like she didn't care.

"Wait, he left you? Were you dating?" asked Lily.

Rose gave Lily a strange look. "Uh, no. But these are his children I'm carrying, and I could have used some help supporting them."

"Oh." said Lily "Well, I'll help you. I mean, I don't have any money, but I can baby-sit. And come to your checkups with you, if you want."

Rose smiled at her cousin. "Thanks Lily. Just don't tell anyone. This needs to be a secret as long as possible."

"Of course." replied Lily "But you're going to tell Scorpius, aren't you?"

Rose sighed. She knew that when she told Scorpius that would be it with him. But some small part of her heart still cherished a small hope that he would stay with her.


	9. Chapter 9

They walked hand in hand down the corridor. Rose had been reluctant to allow this gesture, but she didn't want a scene in the hallway. But when they ducked into a classroom she let go of him immediately.

"Rose? Is everything okay? I've hardly seen you, not since, well... hey, are you still upset about that?" asked Scorpius.

"No," said Rose quickly "but I have to tell you some things, and you're not going to be happy. I'm not happy either. There was ...an accident."

"An accident." repeated Scorpius. "Like a mistake, or something that really wasn't supposed to happen?"

"Never ever supposed to happen." replied Rose. "Scorpius... I'm pregnant." He started to speak, but she cut him off. "You're not the father."

Scorpius sat stunned. "What the hell Rose?" he said finally "You cheated on me?"

"No, no!" replied Rose. "I thought it was you, but it wasn't. I wanted it to be you."

"You meant to get pregnant?!" shouted Scorpius, misunderstanding.

"No! I thought it was you but it wasn't, and he thought it was her bed but it was mine and I thought you had protection and he thought she had protection, and it was an accident. Scorpius, I love you!" cried Rose.

"I can't believe this. I thought you were different." He stood up and stalked off.

"You can't leave!" screamed Rose, though she knew he wouldn't hear. "I don't want to be alone." she mumbled.

* * *

Rose may not have liked it, but alone she was. Her dorm mates Tayden, Jenna, and Marissa had never liked her, and Amber was busy with her new prefect duties. Rose couldn't hang out with Lily and Roxanne either, because once Roxie found out that Rose and Scorpius had broken up, she was sure to want to kill him again, and Rose would have to tell Roxanne that Scorpius wasn't the father.

So Rose threw herself into her studies. She put her work on Gamp's Third Law aside for the moment, and read ahead in her other subjects, to lessen her course load when life got a little more difficult. Rose also went over all the material she had been given regarding pregnancy, but was too afraid to take out any further materials from the library. She worked every spare moment, and studied all of the theory for Potions, in case she was somehow allowed to take it next year.

Working outside was pleasant. In the library Rose earned strange looks from the other students when she had to dash out and vomit. The solitude outside was much more peaceful, and there were no rules forbidding eating. She paused her studies only to take short walks through the grounds and drink water.

However, it was lonely, and Rose often found herself wishing James was there, especially during her visits to the hospital wing. Lily couldn't always be there if they fell during class. She tried to push these thoughts aside, blaming them on pregnancy hormones. She also missed her parents. It had been close to two months since she had last spoken to them, and it hadn't exactly been a happy reunion. She hadn't heard from them since.

* * *

Luckily for Rose, she was about to get a friend. Two of them, in fact.

Back at St. Mungo's, Healer Padma put Rose through the motions again. "Okay Rose, nothing new to report so far, but today we are going to be able to see a picture of your babies." She waved her wand, and a glowing blue image appeared in the air. It appeared to show inside of Rose, with two small figures moving about inside it.

Rose stared in disbelief. "That's them? They're so small."

Healer Padma smiled. "They'll grow a lot before the big day."

Rose squinted. "Is that what their faces are supposed to look like?"

"Well, no." admitted Padma. "They each appear to have a cleft lip. That's a fairly common birth defect. One or both of them might have a cleft palate as well. It's not a big problem, when they're born we'll fix it right up. A cleft palate is a bit more complicated, but like I said, just some routine spellwork."

"Okay." said Rose anxiously "Anything else?"

"Nope. But you can hear their heartbeats now." Rose nodded, so Padma handed Rose her wand, and then put her own hand back on it, so they were both holding it. She pointed it as Rose's stomach.

Rose's eyes widened as she heard the little fluttering beats. They came rapidly, enough for two hearts, and Rose could hear her own thumping along with them. She closed her eyes to listen to the music her children were making for her. "Hello babies." she mumbled.

After several moments Rose opened her eyes "Wow. There are babies inside of me. I'm going to be a mother!" she said incredulously.

Padma laughed. "Yes you are." she replied as she ended the charm. "Speaking of which, you'll likely be showing by your next visit. There are spells for that, but it's hard work to keep them up all day. For now, your robes should provide enough coverage, but you might want to purchase some maternity clothes soon, and a larger set of robes."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." said Rose as she climbed down and went to the fireplace.

* * *

"So, tell me everything." said Lily later. "Stupid Divination."

"Mum warned you not to take it." laughed Rose.

"Uh, have you seen Firenze? Why wouldn't I take it?" replied Lily.

Rose just shook her head. "Never mind. Oh Lily it was great! I heard their heartbeats." Rose gushed.

"Aw!" squealed Lily. "Can you believe this? When can we start buying baby clothes?"

"I don't want to risk anything." replied Rose seriously. "There's still a chance of miscarriage. So no baby clothes. But we can buy clothes for me. Apparently my lateral growth spurt should be starting in the next month."

"Well you just missed a Hogsmeade trip. The next one is Valentine's Day." said Lily.

"I guess that will have to do." sighed Rose. She wasn't looking forward to all those happy couples. It had been three weeks since the breakup with Scorpius, but her heart still panged when she saw him. She rested a hand on her stomach, and the thought of how unconditionally her children would love her gave Rose strength.


	10. Chapter 10

"What happened to your face?" That was how he greeted her. No apology, no explanation, not even a hello.

"James?" asked Rose.

"Well, yeah." replied James. "Look, I'm sorry, but I think we need to catch up. Maybe you could come to my flat?"

"You have a flat?'

"Well, yeah." repeated James.

"Whatever." said Rose, and signaled her intent to follow. She was tired from being on her feet all day. After about a block, James sensed this and took her bags for her. She nodded thanks, but frowned when they approached the stairs.

"Er, right. Er... I could carry you?" James offered.

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "I've got it. There are stairs at Hogwarts, you know." She slowly began her ascent.

James went ahead and unlocked the door. "Haven't they thought of something for that?"

"I'm only in my second trimester. I'm fine usually, I just haven't had a chance to sit down yet today. Maternity clothes shopping." she nodded at the bags.

When they were both seated, and awkward silence fell. "You never answered my question." said James finally.

"Melasma. The babies liked the sun a little too much. I tried a cover up spell, but it doesn't work for everyone. Just my luck, I suppose." explained Rose.

"Babies?" replied James.

"Oh yeah. We're having twins." Rose took pleasure in the shock that crossed his face. Served him right for deserting her. "What? The number doesn't exactly affect you too much, does it?"

James ruffled his hair. "Wow, I thought one baby would be hard. But how are we ever going to support two?" he said distantly.

"We?" Something strange rose up in Rose at the word. Hope, perhaps.

"Er, yeah. Look Rose, I shouldn't have left before. I was mad at you, and me, and just everything was going wrong. But you didn't ask for this. I did this to you, and I can't just walk away. I was staying with Teddy, and it's really obvious, like you can see how much he loves Victoire. But more than that he tries to protect her and do things to make her happy. And it's kind of love, but sometimes it's kind of work. Happy work, pleasant work, even fun work, but it's hard to remember to do everything the way she likes. And meanwhile, she's trying to do everything the way he would want. So I asked him, and he said that he does it because he loves her, but he does this stuff a lot more now than before marriage. Because now he's committed, he said. He bonded himself with her and promised to stay with her forever. And that's us. I mean, I don't love you like that, but we created a life. So now we're bonded, if not to each other, than at least to this life – these lives – that we've created." He paused for breath.

Rose felt herself smile. "That was beautiful James. I agree."

"Right." said James. "So even though we didn't have a big ceremony and declare ourselves to each other, I'm always going to be here for you and our children Rose. Even if we marry different people, we're still connected, because we're both trying so hard to support our children."

"Yes, exactly." said Rose. "So have you got a plan?"

"Er, no." said James sheepishly. "But I've dropped out of school and I have a good job now, here in Hogsmeade. I'm a busboy at that new restaurant, Casey's Cauldron. I need some money for rent and food and whatever, but I'm putting the rest aside for our kids."

"Thank you. Well, I'm going to finish school. I'm supposed to give birth late July, early August, sometime, so I should be able to finish the year." said Rose.

"Really? That will be possible? And with twins?" asked James.

"By exams I'll still have a couple months left to go. Normally that would just be uncomfortable, but you're right, it could be harder with twins. I don't think it will be impossible though. It's just that I'm supposed to deliver early." explained Rose.

"Oh." replied James, reddening a bit at the thought. "And then what?"

"I really want to go back to school next year. It seems stupid, but it's important to me. That's only if someone would watch them, or I could work something out with Professor Vector. I guess I didn't really think it through." replied Rose, a bit shamefaced.

"Er, I mean, I know nothing about children, but... I could do it." offered James.

Rose waved her hands at him. "No, no. I mean, I'm sure you could... maybe. But I can't let you do that. I guess I'll forget about N.E.W.T.s and get a job."

"Where will you live?" asked James.

Rose thought about this. "Somewhere cheap." she said finally, laughing. "Babies are expensive!"

"We ...we could live together." suggested James. "To save money."

"That's... a good idea." replied Rose. "We can think about it."

"I dunno where we can live though. I have this place cheap for six months because the bloke that lived here needs someone to look after his house when he's on vacation. But he's coming back after that." said James.

"Hmmm." said Rose "We probably won't need much for the babies. I hear parents don't use most of the things they get or buy. Of course, we might have to go without somethings that would make our lives easier, but we should be able to take care of them... I think."

"Can we do that though? Like I said, babies are unfamiliar territory for me. I was only four when Lily was born." noted James.

"Well, there's no way we can afford daycare. But maybe we can take some classes and do some reading." Rose sighed. "If only..."

James knew what she was thinking. "Our parents would be a big help, I know. But Mum's the only one who has time to watch children, and she was the most adamant about us striking out on our own."

"So we go it alone." said Rose.

"We go it alone. Just the two of us." James attempted to smile at her.

"The four of us." corrected Rose. "Hey, did you want to come to St. Mungo's with me next time? March 1st?"

"Sure." replied James. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay, well I really have to get back to school. Happy Valentine's Day." said Rose.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate it.


	11. Chapter 11

Rose Flooed to St. Mungo's like usual, but this time James was waiting for her. They didn't want to attract too much attention, so James waited until a few minutes after she had been called for her appointment, then he followed. His appearance in the doorway seemed to surprise Padma.

"It's okay." said Rose.

"Right." said Padma "Your cousin." she smiled at James. "Come on in. Now Rose, Madam Longbottom has been giving me regular updates on you, and we've figured out how to clear your Melasma right up. Hold still." She pointed her wand at Rose's face, and watched as the discolouration and blotchiness dissipated and vanished.

"Thanks." said Rose.

"So good news." said Padma, after completing the routine "We can confirm the sexes."

"Really?!" gasped Rose "A boy and a girl? Oh!" she smiled happily.

"Er, are they doing okay?" asked James.

"I guess you need to be caught up." realized Padma. "They seem to have a few health problems. It's very easy to detect, but at this point I still can't tell what they are. It's difficult because whatever it is hasn't even fully developed yet. We should know once it does, unless it doesn't take effect until after birth. There's a chance that it's just the cleft lips, but I suspect something more. As I've explained Rose, there's no need to worry until we know for certain that there's a problem." Padma explained. "So that about sums it up for this week."

"Can we hear the heartbeat again?" asked Rose.

"Sure." agreed Padma. She took out her wand.

"Wha...?" James trailed off. He could hear the same thing that Rose had heard before. Little lives creating this fluttery music. Lives that he had created. His heart started to beat in time with them too. He felt Rose take his hand, and he squeezed hers tightly. "Amazing." he breathed.

"Would you like a picture?" asked Padma.

Rose and James looked at each other. "Okay." agreed Rose.

Padma fetched a camera, and Rose laid one hand on her stomach, the other hand still holding James', who was crouched down beside her on the bed. Padma smiled. "Lovely." she praised as she took the picture.

James took it and stared at the photograph. In it the two of them were so obviously in love. Not with each other, but with the babies. Rose especially looked radiant.

"Could you make some copies?" he asked Padma.

"Absolutely." she agreed. "I'll go do that." She took the photo and was gone.

"Why'd she leave?" asked Rose.

"I dunno." replied James. "To give us some privacy, I guess."

Rose nodded. "It feels so strange James. I've never even met these children. In fact, I was kind of creeped out when I saw them. But I love them so, so, much already, and I know I would do anything for them. I mean, I know that's what's supposed to happen, but you know, just for babies that were wanted in the first place."

James understood. "Yeah, and they're inside you. You're bound to feel connected to them. But imagine how I feel!" he chuckled. "I've never felt this about anyone before." he admitted. "I love my parents, but you know, it's hard to be aware of that. You don't think of your Mum and feel a tug on your heartstrings. And there were things I loved about Tayden, but I definitely didn't love her yet."

"I loved Scorpius." said Rose, blushing. "But I think I love the kids more."

Padma returned, interrupting their musings. "Here you are. See you at Easter!"

As they walked back down the corridor, James turned to Rose. "Did you want to come and stay with me, at Easter? I mean, there's no reason for you to. I just wondered if it would be easier."

"Hmm." thought Rose "I would like to get away from everyone. I have to avoid the outdoors so my Melasma doesn't come back, and the castle's getting a little crowded. But are you going to be around much? The meals at Hogwarts are a big plus. I can cook for myself when I'm up to it, of course."

"I'll be around when I'm not working, but would Lily come too maybe?" suggested James.

"Good idea." said Rose "I'll ask her. Thanks James." She waved and departed.

* * *

It didn't happen right away. But bright and early Monday morning, their lives changed. Luckily Rose was at breakfast early, while most of her classmates were still asleep. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm. "Rose." said Albus evenly "Come with me."

Rose was confused, but he had a firm grip on her, so she allowed herself to be led away. Not before she grabbed her cereal bowl. Albus led her up several flights of stairs, and finally into an empty classroom. He stared in disbelief as she sat down, picked up her spoon, and continued to eat. "What?" she asked defensively. "I'm eating for three here, okay? What's going on?"

"I'm not sure." replied Albus. "I got a letter early this morning. It was a bit cryptic; I think he was in a hurry. But he didn't wait until morning post, so it must be important."

"Huh?" asked Rose. Al handed her the letter.

 _Al,_

 _Get Rose out of there. Something's up._

 _Louis_

"Huh?" repeated Rose, more loudly. "Why is Louis writing you?"

"Stay here, I'm going to find out what's going on." decided Albus. As he turned to leave Lily burst through the door.

"Found you!" she cried. She clutched the Marauder's Map in one hand and the Daily Prophet in the other. She flung the paper at Albus. "Oh, Rosie!" Lily threw her arms around her cousin.

"Shit." said Albus. "I guess Louis heard something at work." Louis was a reporter for the Daily Prophet. Albus came and sat beside Rose, and together they took in the massive headline.

 _SCANDAL: INCEST IN POTTERVILLE_

The story went over the family history, and then the accusations began. Rose stopped after scanning the paper, and instead focused on the picture. It was the same one Padma had taken.

"Who's their source?" Rose asked quietly.

"A Padma Patil." replied Albus.

Rose nodded. "My healer. She took the photo. But I can't understand... I mean, why?"

"I think we'd a-" Al was cut off when Roxanne showed up, breathing heavily. She pointed at Albus and Lily and made hand gestures, but her meaning did not come across.

Rose conjured a glass of water. "Sorry Roxie. I just-" Roxanne had gulped down the water and was waving Rose's explanation away. She came over and strangely took Lily's hands.

"I just ran all over the castle looking for you three. Your Dad – Uncle Harry – he's had a heart attack."


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm incredibly sorry about this Ms. Weasley. Healer Padma has always been completely trustworthy. She has an Order of Merlin, Second Class, she's worked alongside the Aurors and kept everything confidential, we even reviewed everything she did for you and it was above our highest standards. Of course, she's been fired now, and we're launching an investigation, but I'm afraid we there's not much help we can offer you."

"I'd like to be referred to another Healer; one with a more thorough background check. After talking to the family, it seems this was revenge for a bad date with my father. And I'd also like my primary Healer to be Hannah." ordered Rose.

"Of course." said Hannah, who was sitting in the manager's office at St. Mungo's next to Rose. "I've almost completed my training, and I can always contact an expert if need be."

"As you wish."

"Meet you in 10 minutes Hannah?" said Rose. She quickly made her way upstairs.

"All sorted out?" asked James, who was sitting in the hall beside Lily, while Albus paced in front of him.

"Yeah. Hannah's going to take over, and they'll find someone else to help her." explained Rose.

"You really think it was just because Uncle Ron didn't dance with her at the Yule Ball?" asked James.

"The payoff would have been a factor too, I imagine." answered Albus.

"Shouldn't you guys be in there?" asked Rose.

"It's a bit crowded." said Albus.

James nodded. "That and your parents are in there. Your Dad didn't look pleased to see me."

"Oh. Sorry." said Rose.

"Hey, don't apologize." admonished James. "Anyway, Dad's supposed to be okay. He has to take it easy, and he's going to be in hospital for a while. They said he could go home, but Mum told them he wouldn't rest at home, and forced them to keep him for two weeks, and ban him from working for another."

"Will he go back?" asked Rose.

Albus came over and sat down, finally. "I'm sure he'll want to. But he won't be able to go on so many missions."

"That's probably a good thing." said James. "He cut back when Lily was born, but once Albus and I were both in school he started going out again. Stupid really."

"He's only forty-three." sniffled Lily.

"And he probably has one of the hardest jobs in the world." said Albus. "Mum was worried about something like this. Don't quote me on this, but I think that was one of the reasons she wanted you guys to do this on your own, so he wouldn't get too stressed."

Rose put her head in her hands, and James grabbed them and held them. "It's not your fault Rose. Dad needs to take better care of himself. He works too hard, like Al said."

Rose nodded. "Sorry. But I guess Mum can always force him to take a vacation. I have to get back to school though. Keep us posted."

Rose returned to Hannah who took her back to the school by side along apparition so she could avoid the public and the press in the hospital lobby.

"Thanks." said Rose gratefully as they walked back to the castle.

"Okay Rose, so you keep coming to see me every week, and then we'll go for your visits as usual. The assistant and the experts and the equipment are all there, so it's easier." said Hannah.

"Alright." agreed Rose.

* * *

Rose decided to hide out in her dorm until she could get a sense of how her classmates were reacting. Unfortunately, she forgot just who her dorm mates were.

"You bitch!" yelled Tayden. She slapped Rose across the face. "How could you?"

"Tayden!" cried Amber. "Calm down! Are you okay Rose?"

"I'm okay." replied Rose "It was an accident Tayden, but I'm really sorry."

"Bog off." replied Tayden, with a rude hand gesture.

"Tayden, seriously." said Amber. "5 points from Gryffindor. Let's get out of here."

The other four girls stalked out of the dorm room.

Rose lay on her bed, cradling her stomach. "Hi babies." she said softly "Don't worry, I'm okay. I hope you're doing okay too. That was just your father's ex-girlfriend. She's mad at Mummy. Well, a lot of people are mad at Mummy, but it's okay, because Mummy loves you. Daddy loves you too. And when you're born you get to come and live with Mummy and Daddy, somewhere far, far, away from all the mad people. And you can meet Aunt Lily, and Uncle Albus. They're part of your family. You have a lot of family members, but some of them are upset with Mummy and Daddy right now, so you might not get to meet them. But don't worry about that, because Mummy and Daddy are going to make sure you're happy. So you guys just concentrate on getting healthy and strong, okay? Alright, goodnight babies." Rose smiled. She felt a little awkward, but she heard that talking to the babies in utero would help with bonding.

Just then the door opened. "Rose?" It was Scorpius.

"Yes..." said Rose.

Scorpius surveyed her. "Did you get slapped?"

"Er, yeah." admitted Rose. She had no idea what Scorpius wanted.

"I guess it wouldn't be very nice of me to slap you again then." said Scorpius.

"Right." agreed Rose, unsure if he was joking. "Did you want something?"

Scorpius considered "The truth, I guess. I know the paper exaggerates like crazy. I just wanted to know what really happened."

"I suppose I owe you that much." said Rose. She told him the whole story, looking at the floor rather than his face. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm sorry I yelled at you." said Scorpius.

"No," said Rose "I would have yelled too. I mean, I trust you, but I never would have been able to guess what had really happened."

"Yeah." agreed Scorpius.

"Are we okay then?" asked Rose.

Scorpius nodded. "Yes, we are Rose. But... I don't think there's any way things can be the same again. I mean, you're pregnant. You're carrying someone else's children. It might be different if..." he paused.

"If it wasn't my cousin." finished Rose.

"No. I mean, if there was no father. Well, of course there's a father, but if he left you, or decided he couldn't take care of the baby. You know, if he wasn't around, maybe I would be able to take that spot. I never really thought about it. But he's here Rose, and he's willing, and maybe he doesn't love you like that, but he's going to be your partner. There's no role for me to fill." explained Scorpius. "And ...I'm seeing someone else."

"Oh." said Rose. She had known, but she couldn't stop hoping. "Okay."

"Bye Rosie." said Scorpius. He exited the dorm.

"Goodbye, love." murmured Rose.

* * *

"So Uncle Harry's going to be fine?" asked Rose, a few weeks later.

"Yeah." replied Lily. "He just has to take it easier. Mum's really stressed, with him, and James, and your parents."

"And me." said Rose.

"Well, yeah." acknowledged Lily.

"Speaking of people upset with me, have you seen Hugo? I haven't seen him since Christmas."

Lily looked sheepish. "He's kind of confused about the whole thing. I think he'd like to ask you about it, but your Dad ordered him to stay away from you."

Rose sighed, but made no comment on her father's abandonment of her. She missed her family. "Well, he's doing a mighty fine job of it."

"So have you picked any names yet?" asked Lily. "Lily Junior, perhaps?"

Rose laughed. "No. I want James' opinion, but I also don't want to jinx it. They still haven't told me what these health problems are. Hannah's starting to look a little worried, but I think she wants to wait until we're at St. Mungo's, so she can consult the experts."

"Do I get to come to the hospital?" asked Lily. "It's Easter, no school will be missed."

"Well, maybe." said Rose. "James is coming, unless he has to work. You can definitely come, but they might make you sit in the hallway."

"The hallway?" asked Lily "Don't I get a chair?"

"We're being smuggled in under a Disillusionment charm through the manager's office, and they've blocked off an entire ward just for me." said Rose.

"Is that seriously necessary?"

"They're making up for the whole – oh!" said Rose surprisedly, clutching her stomach.

"What?!" asked Lily frantically "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! The babies are moving. It feels like they have the hiccups."

"Oh my gosh!" said Lily. "That's so exciting! How does it feel Rosie?"

"Amazing. Sort of fluttery." replied Rose "They're really in there." She smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

"Just a little further Rose." said James.

Rose was having difficulty walking, as her stomach kept heaving. "Oof!" she groaned. "I was wrong. It's not amazing. I wish they would stop kicking – oof!"

"It's not usually such a problem." explained Hannah. "But with twice as many babies, there's twice as much kicking. And if one kicks the other the other one often kicks too, when they're readjusting. Ah, here we are."

"Victoire!" exclaimed James as they entered the room. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the junior healer they assigned you." said Victoire cheerfully as she hugged Lily. "For some reason they felt I could be trusted."

"Wonderful." said Hannah. "Alright Rose, are you ready?"

"Sure." said Rose, hopping up on the bed.

A while into the procedure Hannah sent a Patronus. "I think it's time to bring in the experts and find out about some of these health problems."

"Okay." said Rose nervously. She reached for James hand.

They did a lot of tests, and finally Victoire escorted Rose, James, and Lily to another room while Hannah waited for the verdict.

"What has everyone been saying?" Rose asked Victoire. George's birthday party had been on the weekend, so Victoire had the latest news.

"Shock mostly. No one seems more upset then your parents. But I think Grandma supports you. She's not happy, but she supports you. And if you've got her, the rest of the family won't be far behind if they know what's good for them." answered Victoire.

"Grandma's not mad?" asked James.

"Well, she's older. There used to be a lot of intermarrying among the Wizarding population. And Dad was born when she was only 21, so she's not too upset about that either." explained Victoire.

"Family is important to Grandma." said Lily seriously.

"Well, it used to be important to my parents too." said Rose, shutting everyone up.

Hannah came in and sat across from Rose. "Okay Rose. How do you want to do this?"

"Just tell me what's wrong, and tell me what the options are." said Rose.

"Well, both babies have Neural Tube Defects." Victoire breathed in sharply. "The boy has Spina Bifida, which means his Spinal Column isn't completely formed. There are different variations of this, which we will be able to distinguish between at birth. He may require surgery, but it's not fatal." Hannah paused. "He also has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. The left side of his heart is smaller than it should be. Most babies survive. The treatment is a series of three surgeries, the first one at birth. He has this combined with Aortic Atresia, meaning he has no Aortic Valve. Also mostly non-fatal. We'll simply create one at birth, and then he'll need medication to help his heart work properly."

"So he's okay." said Rose. It felt odd to say, when there were so many things wrong with him.

"Yes. It would be a difficult situation for a Muggle baby, but once the treatments are done he's going to be fine." said Hannah.

"How many surgeries was that again?" asked James.

"At birth we'll fix his lip and aortic valve, and complete the first of his treatments for HLHS. He may also need his spinal column repaired and/or surgery for a cleft palate. After birth, the heart surgeries continue, as well as part two if there's a cleft palate. As I said, quite overwhelming for a Muggle, but not a problem for Healers. He'll come through fine." repeated Hannah.

"And the girl?" asked Rose. "Just tell me."

"The girl has a different version of NTD, Anencephaly, which means an incompletely formed brain. I'm sorry Rose," said Hannah gently "but the prognosis... is bad."

Rose tightened her grip on James, and Lily took Rose's other hand.

"Many babies with Anencephaly die in the womb." continued Hannah. "In that case, we would try to find a balance between how soon we can get her out and how long we can keep the boy in. Some babies die shortly after birth. And some survive."

"For how long?" asked Rose fiercely.

"The record is four and a half years. With magic, they might have kept the child alive longer, but ...it wasn't alive anymore. It couldn't understand anything, or do anything, so they felt it best." said Hannah. "We'll just wait and see."

Rose nodded, and her tears brimmed over. Her cousins hugged her, and she saw that James was crying too. Victoire and Hannah had to leave eventually, but the other three stayed like that for a long time.

* * *

Finally, they made it back to James' flat. No one spoke. Lily left shortly after dinner. In light of Harry's heart attack, they had decided that she should spend some of the holidays with her parents. James, who wasn't invited, had managed to take off work, so Lily didn't have to stay and help Rose. Once Lily was gone James and Rose went straight to bed.

James felt horrible. He was sad about the baby of course, but he could tell that Rose was absolutely devastated. The only thing that had stopped her from falling into utter despair was the knowledge that she had to be strong for her healthy baby. And James, who wanted cry too, had to be strong for her, because she didn't have anyone else.

Most of all, he wanted to talk to his parents, to find out how they could be so strong for each other and their children when their own lives were overwhelming.

A while later, nearing midnight, James heard the distant sound of crying. He got up off the couch and went into the bedroom. Rose was curled up on the bed. He climbed in and put his arms around her, rocking her.

"Shhhh." he whispered "It's okay Rosie. It's okay."

Her sobs grew quieter. "It just... feels like... I'm losing my whole family."

"I know." said James "But I'm here. I'm here, Rose. And I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

He didn't know what else to do, so he kissed her.

And while the world pushed them away, they tightened their holds on each other.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, so I've never studied medical care. I did my best to research all of the health problems that arise in this story (and then incorporate them into the Wizarding World), but it's possible some of the complications in this story aren't even plausible. Sorry if I got anything wrong, and thanks for reading it anyway.


	14. Chapter 14

When Rose awoke, James was making breakfast. He brought it in to her, and sat beside her.

"I think we should talk." he said.

"We need to." agreed Rose. Oddly, she didn't feel as embarrassed as she thought she would be.

"Was that just a one-time thing?" asked James. "It would be understandable. We're both... under a lot of stress." He finished lamely.

"Well..." said Rose. "I don't know. It... was good."

"I enjoyed it too." agreed James.

"I thought it would feel weird." continued Rose "What with the... news... and all. But... I just feel comfortable with you." she admitted.

"That's sort of how I feel." replied James. "It's a little odd to think about, but we already promised to be partners. We just sort of... added to that."

"Don't take this the wrong way," said Rose "but there can't really be anyone else. I mean, if we're going to live together and raise these – " Rose's voice broke.

"These children." finished James "Or this child, then there isn't really room for anyone else. And neither of us wants to be alone for ever. I understand."

"Exactly." said Rose. "But, well, no pressure."

"No." said James. "We'll wait and see. I'm... I'm glad it's you though, Rose."

He kissed her, just gently, and she just felt safe. Like she knew she could count on James.

"I'll let you eat and clean up." offered James. He got up.

"Okay. We should probably talk about baby stuff." decided Rose. She felt a little pang at the thought.

* * *

"You look nice." said James.

Rose was just in a casual beige maternity dress and tights, but she blushed. "Thanks."

"Okay, so, sorry, but I haven't really looked at any of this stuff. I mean, I've been checking out houses, and daycare options, and things, but I don't know about baby stuff." confessed James.

"It's okay." replied Rose "I've done a lot of research. Hopefully we should be able to get a lot of things second hand."

"So what do we need?" asked James curiously.

"Well, it depends. A dozen sleepers or so. We can get hand me downs from ...somebody I guess." James put his hand on Roses shoulder, and she continued. "Breastfeeding is a lot cheaper, but well, the only way we really won't have to buy anything for that is if I don't work, at least not right away. We'll just need a nursing pillow."

"We haven't talked about that." said James "Do you think it would be easier if you didn't work?"

"Possibly. It might be difficult to live on one income, but if I'm going to be away from the baby – or babies – for any length of time, there are more things we would need. A breast pump or formula, and bottles, and daycare costs." explained Rose.

"Okay." said James. "That might be best for us then. We don't need to decide right now, but let's talk about it as if that's the plan."

"Diapers. A stroller might be nice, for walks. And then just wherever they sleep." concluded Rose.

"Are there options for that?" asked James.

Rose nodded. "A crib, or a basket, or a carrier, or some babies sleep in with the parents."

"But when he's bigger, the baby will need a crib." said James.

"Yes, probably." agreed Rose. "But we'd need a carrier – or two – anyway."

"Okay," said James "So sleepers, nursing pillow, diapers, carrier. Is that really all we need?"

Rose smiled. "There are tons of other things to buy, but yeah, we should be able to make do with that for the first six months or so."

"And then what?" asked James.

"More clothes, a stroller, high chair, baby spoons, sippy cups, bibs, crib, bedding, blankets, safety gates, and cupboard latches. Pacifiers, maybe." Rose listed off.

"I knew there was more." said James. "But it's better than I expected."

Rose was quiet. "It's just, will we need twice as much of everything?"

James turned to face her. "I don't know." he said truthfully. "We'll start collecting for one, and see how things go. If... if our little girl survives, we'll make sure she gets what she needs. It'll be okay Rose."

"I know." said Rose. "It's just sad."

"It is." agreed James solemnly. They were silent for a moment. "Er, did you want to talk about names?"

"Okay." agreed Rose. "I've got some books. Let's each make a list of ones that we like, and then we'll switch and cross off the ones we can't stand."

James agreed to this, and they both picked up a quill and began working. Finally they each had a list of ten names for each gender. They swapped, threw some incredulous glances at each other, and decided to save that conversation for after they had gone through the lists. Eventually, it looked like this:

 _Rose's Boys:_

 _Angus X_

 _Cole_

 _Darcy X_

 _Dylan_

 _Ellis_

 _Jasper X_

 _Kenneth X_

 _Mason_

 _Rowan_

 _Sage_

 _Rose's Girls:_

 _Abby_

 _Ashley X_

 _Beth X_

 _Charlotte_

 _Elsie X_

 _Emily_

 _Maria X_

 _Payton_

 _Sienna_

 _Violet_

 _James' Boys:_

 _Archie_

 _Arrill_

 _Brody X_

 _Caleb_

 _Elric X_

 _Hal_

 _Milton_

 _Noah_

 _Oscar X_

 _Riley X_

 _James' Girls:_

 _Callie_

 _Ciadda_

 _Clover_

 _Eadlyn_

 _Ella_

 _Posy X_

 _Rae_

 _Reeth X_

 _Rory X_

 _Sara_

"Let's see if we can narrow it down to six girls and six boys." suggested Rose.

"Fine." said James. "But what's wrong with Oscar? I like it. And Reeth."

"Reeth sounds like teeth. And I don't like Oscar." retorted Rose.

"Angus then? We're not Scottish!" James replied.

"Whatever. Forget Angus. But where did Ciadda and Eadlyn come from?" questioned Rose.

"Oh, I think one of the books I picked up was Old English Names and Variations, or something like that." answered James. "Anyway, I like Mason, Emily, and Sienna."

"I like Milton and Noah. And most of your girls' names, actually." admitted Rose. "Let's just check none of them are too similar to anyone we know. That's why I crossed off Riley, Posy, and Rory, they remind me of Rosie."

"Hmm." thought James. "Okay, Charlotte, that's Uncle Charlie. Rae and Rowan kind of sounds like Rose also. Abby is close to Albus, if you want to be picky."

"I really like Rae and Rowan, but you're right." agreed Rose.

They continued chatting until they narrowed the list down as Rose had suggested.

"So that's Arrill, Ellis, Hal, Mason, Noah, and Sage for the boys, and Ciadda, Eadlyn, Ella, Emily, Payton, and Sara for the girls." Rose announced.

"I think we did good." said James.

"Me too."

* * *

Author's Note: I'd just like to mention that this chapter marks the halfway point in the story. From now on I will be posting new chapters every two or three days, rather than one for every day. Sorry for any inconvenience, and thanks for reading.


	15. Chapter 15

"Do I really have to be blindfolded?" asked Rose.

"Well, no." said James. "But that would ruin the surprise."

Rose sighed. "Alright. This had better be good."

It was two weeks since Easter holidays, and James had written to Rose insisting that she come visit him on Hogsmeade weekend. When she arrived, James had announced that he had a surprise. He then proceeded to blindfold Rose and take her by side along apparition to an unknown location. By this point, Rose was getting a little annoyed, especially considering that students weren't supposed to leave Hogsmeade.

"Okay, now!" exclaimed James as he removed the blindfold.

Rose blinked. They were standing in a narrow lane bordered by short hedges and with trees overhanging. Looking to the right, Rose saw that the lane carried on a ways, intersecting with a few driveways, and then disappeared into the countryside. Looking to the left, Rose saw a small town a short town a short distance away, with a pub and a church and a few quaint little shops.

In front of them was a teensy stone house, with a chimney and shutters and a flagstone path leading up to the red front door. It had a miniscule little garden in front, with verdant foliage and copious flowers in a range of subdued colours. There was even a wrought iron bench at one end.

"James." breathed Rose. "What...?"

"Do you like it?" asked James, beaming.

"I love it! But why...?" Rose trailed off again.

"It's going to be ours." revealed James.

"What? Really?" exclaimed Rose.

James hugged her. "Really."

"But how...?"

"We can talk money later. Don't you want to see the inside before we have to get you back to school?" asked James.

"Right, yes of course. It's adorable." replied Rose.

They took the few short steps down the path, and James produced a key. "I would carry, you across the threshold, but well, you know." Rose poked him in the side.

The interior of the house seemed even smaller than the exterior. The outside walls were still stone, as was the floor, but the inside walls were painted a light brown. The couple entered into the main area. In the opposite corner of the room was a tiny kitchen, with glass fronted wooden cabinets and neat countertops. Straight ahead was an eating area with a table for four. They were standing in front of the fire place, and facing them to the right was a cream sofa. A hallway led from the opposite wall beyond.

"I had some things moved out." explained James. "Before there was hardly room for the table. It was a big shiny square thing in the kitchen."

"The refrigerator." laughed Rose.

"Right. And I brought in the rocking chair." said James.

"Everything's perfect." said Rose. "Let's go see the bedrooms."

The master bedroom at the end of the hall was much like the main area. Small, and mostly stone, but the inside wall was painted blue. There was a bed and a dresser, but what Rose liked best were the big windows looking out the back of the house.

"There's no yard." said James. "But I thought the view was nice. That's Bramble's copse up there."

They looked at the bathroom next. It was small, but it worked. There was a half sized tub too, perfect for kids.

The kids' bedroom on the west side of the house was nice too. It had a large closet for storage. At the moment there were just two single beds tightly fitted in there, but they could probably work it into some sort of nursery.

"This is wonderful, James." praised Rose.

"That's it." said James. "Well, there's the attic, but too small for anything other than storage. No ghouls though, I checked."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I absolutely love it, and I can't wait to hear your plans to steal enough money for us to afford it, but I really have to get back to school."

"Did you want to put the blindfold on?" asked James. Rose poked him again.

* * *

 _Dear James,_

 _I loved going to see the house with you last weekend. Is it really ours? Can we really afford it? Also, where is it exactly?_

 _Thanks, love Rose. XXX_

 _Hey Rosie!_

 _So yeah I guess you would be curious about the house. I talked to the goblins, and they're going to loan us ten thousand galleons. The house costs twelve, so we do have a little ways to go. I have about seven hundred saved up, maybe closer to eight by the time we'll be looking to buy._

 _The house is owned by the Bramble family (muggles). They own the field behind the house, and Bramble's copse. They have a few guest cottages along the road that they've been looking to sell for a while. I guess they've been there since before automobiles, and since the stables are at the main house, there isn't room for parking or anything. They have electric, but it's on and off apparently. When I said we didn't mind, Mr. Bramble was absolutely thrilled. When I also promised to 'forgo a home inspection,' he agreed to sell it to me on the spot._

 _I've already made a few renovations. I expanded the fireplace so we'll be able to Floo. Too bad we can't expand the rooms, but I think the neighbours would be suspicious. I also moved the re-frigid-ater, as you called it. Another thing was the plumbing had to be replaced. The electric was a safety hazard, so I just vanished it. We can do an undetectable extension charm on the closets for more storage. I thought you might like the character though, so I didn't change the décor, other than to move the stuff out of the nursery so we can decorate it together. Did I tell you that we get the furniture included?_

 _The town is called Elbow. It's in Hampshire. I figured that it didn't really matter where we live, and it was the best place I could find. We'll have to be a bit careful with the magic, so the neighbours don't start asking questions though. There isn't much there, just a little grocery and a church and a pub._

 _Tell you more when I see you._

 _Love James. XXXXXXX_


	16. Chapter 16

Rose and Lily ran down to the gates.

"Okay." said Lily. "If we can just figure out how to undo these enchantments..."

"I doubt it will be very simple." said Rose.

"Well, maybe not." agreed Lily. "Did you bring the books?"

"Yes. There are certain spells that have always been used on the gates. But then each headmaster likes to add their own flair." explained Rose.

"Alohamora!" attempted Lily. Nothing happened.

"Well, that may have done something. But there are multiple layers of protection. I don't really think that this is the best way out." said Rose thoughtfully.

"Neither do I." said a voice behind them.

"Mr. Oliver!" exclaimed Rose, upon seeing the elderly caretaker.

"Hello!" said Lily cheerfully. "Could you unlock the gates for us?"

"I'm afraid not." replied Mr. Oliver seriously. "You're going to have to come with me girls."

They seemed to arrive at the Headmistresses office the same moment she did. She opened the door and cried out in surprise. Rose and Lily looked at each other knowingly.

* * *

"Okay, we're in." said Roxanne.

"That was easy!" said Rose. "Do you think it's smart for all the prefects to know the password to the Headmistresses office?"

Roxanne laughed. "Hopefully she keeps her valuables elsewhere. Now... Floo powder. Where do you think she stores it?"

"I don't know but I doubt we have much time." replied Rose.

"Here it is!" cried Roxanne.

Just then the door flew open. Professor Vector gasped. "What is going on here?" she demanded. "Rose! Are you really escaping? And through my office?!"

Before Rose could explain Mr. Oliver walked in, followed by Lily and Rose.

"What in the name of Merlin?" cried Professor Vector.

"Er, is it just me, or am I seeing double?" asked Mr. Oliver.

"Alright." said Professor Vector, regaining her composure. "Alright. Everybody sit down and explain yourselves."

They did. "I found these two attempting to unlock the gates." began Mr. Oliver. Before he could continue the door opened and in came Albus and Rose.

* * *

"Your family is weird." announced Rose.

"Keep your voice down." replied Albus. "You're Rose, remember?"

"Exactly my point. You guys are weird." retorted Rose.

"Okay, okay, we're almost there." said Albus. "Here we go." He stopped in front of the one-eyed witch statue.

"Where do you think you're going?" The head boy called from down the corridor. "It's almost curfew." He checked his watch. "In fact, it's past curfew. I think we should go to the Headmistresses office. She told us to keep an eye out for you Rose."

"How did you know what we were doing?" asked Rose. Albus motioned for her to keep quiet.

"No one goes down that corridor unless they're taking the passage to Honeydukes."

"I didn't think the other Prefects knew about that." replied Albus.

"They don't. So maybe I have a sweet tooth." said the head boy. "In you go."

The other two Roses were already there. Professor Vector huffed exasperatedly. "Just have a seat so we can get to the bottom of this."

"Okay so we have Rose, Rose, Rose, Lily, Roxanne, and Albus. Obviously the whole Weasley/Potter gang has teamed up to help Rose get out of here. Now, the first Rose was found at quarter to nine. It is now 9:03, so we have at least half an hour until the Polyjuice wears off. I'm thinking we can wait until then to start handing out punishments. In the meantime, I'm going to go and alert the teachers to help look for more Roses. You're in charge." she said to the head boy.

* * *

"Don't worry, I'll take the fall for this. You won't get in trouble." said Fred.

"I don't mind." said Rose. "But won't it be dangerous?"

"Not at all." said Fred. "I've never done this before, but James explained what to do."

They approached their destination. "Now, we just need a – " Fred stopped.

"Fred! Help!" exclaimed Rose.

"Arresto Momentum!" cried Fred. The branches of the Whomping Willow slowed down enough that he managed to pull Rose from their grasp and into safety.

"My hero." said Rose. She leaned towards Fred.

He jumped back. "Er, sorry, but you're my cousin."

"Oh, right. I forgot." replied Rose "Now what do we do?"

"Not so fast!" cried the head girl. "Step away from the tree."

"We were just curious." said Fred.

"Uh huh." The head girl rolled her eyes. "Well, it doesn't matter. All Roses have to report to the Headmistresses office immediately."

* * *

Hugo and Rose didn't even make it into the Room of Requirement. Neville was waiting for them.

"Hello Rose. Hugo." he nodded. "Let's go." he walked away without checking to see if they were following.

The scene in the office was rather amusing. Five Roses and their respective partners in crime were seated in a number of hastily conjured chairs. Professor Vector had returned, and she looked frazzled.

Just then the Rose who was seated beside Lily began to shake. Her hair changed slightly in shade and she grew upwards.

"Olivia Harbottle." said Professor Vector.

* * *

Rose heaved the bloody meat back onto her shoulder and followed Lucy deeper into the Forbidden Forest. "Why did we get this job? There's no way that this is safe. I'm a prefect."

"We'll be fine." called Lucy. They reached the clearing and threw down their armfuls of Thestral bait. "I got this job because I can see the Thestrals, and you got it because you didn't want to be found by the head girl or boy."

"I regret that decision already." mumbled Rose. "Are they here yet?"

"One." answered Lucy.

"Are you sure anyone's coming?" asked Rose. "If another one gets here and we don't leave, it'll look suspicious."

"Hugo will be found by now, and Professor Longbottom knows about the Thestrals. So, any minute now."

"Oy!" yelled Hagrid. "What the bloody hell do you think yer doing? Lucy Weasley! And Rose Weasley. This is the Forbidden Forest!"

"We were feeding the Thestrals." said Lucy sweetly.

"I don't care what you were doing." shouted Hagrid. "Yer in danger." He picked the two girls up by the back of their robes and carried them out of the forest. "Sorry 'bout that, but it's not safe. Yer could 'ave been killed!"

"You should probably take us to the Headmistress." suggested Lucy.

"Er, right." agreed Hagrid.

Running to keep up with Hagrid's large strides, it didn't take long to reach the office.

It seemed Hagrid hadn't in fact been notified of the night's escapades, as he exclaimed loudly. "Three Roses!"

Professor Vector ignored him for the moment. "Well, they're all here."

"No they aren't." said Hagrid. "If they're doing the thing properly there should be seven."

"What?" said Professor Vector sharply.

"Oh." said Hagrid. "That's just how, er, Harry did it."

Before Professor Vector could pounce on this new information, there was a loud noise outside, followed by several brightly coloured explosions. "What on Earth?"

"Weasley's Wildfire Whizbangs." chorused the room.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter is just meant as a bit of comic relief. It will be explained more in the next update, but I'd love reviews about how I can improve it (or anything you want to comment on). Thanks.


	17. Chapter 17

"Rose! You made it." said James as he let her in.

Rose laughed. "Don't you have any faith in me?"

"Of course. But seriously, how'd you do it?"

"Long story. We would have been okay, but then Tayden heard Lily and me discussing it and tipped off Professor Vector. We had to alter the plan quite a bit after that. We ended up taking a page out of your Dad's book and using Polyjuice." explained Rose.

"You seriously made six copies of yourself?! Is that even safe?"

Rose nodded. "We used some of my hair from before I got pregnant and gave everyone stomach padding."

"Okay, I want to hear the whole story." said James. "Have a seat."

"Then don't interrupt. First, Lily and Olivia Harbottle went down and tried to open the gate. Mr. Oliver followed them. They met Professor Vector just after she caught Roxanne and your dormmate Jordan trying to escape through the Floo in her office. Albus and Lucy's friend Valerie should have been discovered next. We found out the head boy likes to sneak off to Honeydukes, so they waited by the passage, and that took care of him. It was the head girl's night to patrol the grounds, so Fred and Marley got caught at the Whomping Willow to get her inside. Hugo even agreed to help, and met Neville outside the room of requirement with Harriet Green. Then Lucy and my friend Amber let Hagrid think they were trying to escape on a Thestral. With the grounds cleared, Brett and Liam distracted everyone with a fireworks display, so I could fly away in the opposite direction." she finished.

"Olivia helped? And the guys?"

Rose nodded.

"But Rose, that was so dangerous. Lucy and Amber could have been hurt. And you! Riding a broom when you're pregnant. Only a really good flyer could get out of the grounds and come all the way out here. Wait... did you say Harriet Green? Kyle's girlfriend?" asked James.

"Yes. He flew me here."

"Huh. I guess I should try to be a little nicer to him." decided James.

"You should. Shall we go to bed?"

"Are you tired?" asked James.

"No." replied Rose "Shall we go to bed?"

It clicked. "I would like that." said James politely. "If you want to."

"I want to."

* * *

Neither of them got much sleep that night. Rose didn't have class in the morning, but she wanted to be back fairly early. Might as well get her punishment over with. So James set an alarm for 5:00am, since there was a lot they needed to talk over.

"Is this bad?" asked Rose, as she lay comfortably against James' shoulder.

"What?" asked James. "You mean incest?"

"Well, sort of. It's not illegal to marry your cousin, so technically this isn't incest." replied Rose.

"Good to know." said James.

Rose laughed. "What I meant was, do we love each other?"

James considered. "Well, you're family, so of course I love you. But I love you more than I would love a cousin. More like, how I would love a sister. Of course, if you were my sister, the thought of doing anything like this would be completely repulsive. And you're carrying my children, so that's pretty important also."

"But is this love? Like a couple." persisted Rose.

"I love you like family and I love you sexually and I want to stay with you and support you, so yes." said James. "I think this is love."

"Why do you want to stay with me and support me?" asked Rose.

"Well, for the kids mostly." admitted James. "But even if something... happened to them, we're in this together. Forever. I wouldn't leave you."

"Thank you." said Rose. "Because if anything happens to the kids I'll need you."

"Er, we haven't really talked about that. Have you thought about it?" said James carefully.

Rose sighed. "Yes. But there's not much we can do. Hopefully our daughter gets to live a long and happy life with us. If she doesn't, we'll deal with that when it happens."

"You're being very stoic." said James. "It's really sad."

"I know." replied Rose "I'm telling myself that I need to be prepared. But I can't quite wrap my head around it."

"Okay." said James softly. "We won't talk about that then. Not yet."

"How will we live?" asked Rose. "Where will you work?"

"At the restaurant for now. It will be enough. I make about fifty galleons a week." explained James.

"What do you think our expenses will be like?" asked Rose.

"I dunno, maybe around fifteen? We shouldn't need much." said James.

Rose smiled. "This is so unlike you, all this research and preparation."

James shifted. "Well, I feel kinda bad for dropping the ball earlier. And it's actually interesting to find out all the best options and see what we'll need and figure out how I can provide it. All the pieces have to fit."

"Shouldn't we be doing it together though?" asked Rose.

"You're taking care of our babies. I feel bad that I can't be there to help you." replied James. "Are you doing okay Rosie?"

"It's not so bad. I don't like feeling fat, but it's a lot better than it was in the beginning, and better than it's going to be in the third trimester. Ugh, I just can't wait to have cravings and no bladder control and back pain." Rose rolled her eyes.

"What's it like now?" asked James curiously.

She grinned. "Mostly I'm just horny."

"Well _that_ I can help with. Do we have time?" said James.

"We'll make time."

* * *

James had to work in the morning, so Rose walked up to the Hogwarts gates alone. She knew she would be in a lot of trouble, but she had needed to see James. After Tayden had tattled, Professor Vector had warned Rose not to sneak out and encouraged her to do the right thing. Which had made Rose angry, because wasn't it right for her to spend time with the father of her children? So Rose and Lily had concocted a plan to ensure Rose would have a night with James. That would be her only defense against Professor Vector's lecturing, but really now that it was over she was ready to accept her consequences.

Mr. Oliver met her at the gate and escorted her to the Headmistresses office.

"Well Rose, that was quite a performance last night." said Professor Vector.

"I'm sorry." said Rose sincerely.

"I let your friends off with a warning. Twenty points from anyone caught breaking curfew. Which puts Gryffindor at the bottom of the House standings." Professor Vector informed Rose.

"I'm sorry about that as well." said Rose.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" asked the headmistress.

"I felt my actions were appropriate, if illegal." said Rose. "I regret that they had to be so, and I accept my punishment."

"Hmmm. Well then, I think a week's worth of detentions in the Hospital Wing. Madam Longbottom has been kind enough to help you out, now you can return the favour." decided Professor Vector. "If you're well enough to escape, you're well enough to work. Go on, now."


	18. Chapter 18

James paced in the corridor. He had been shooed from the room where Hannah, Victoire, and one of the senior healers examined his partner. Rose was now thirty weeks pregnant, and he was anxiously awaiting news of their babies.

"Come in." said Victoire solemnly.

"Is it okay?" asked James. She just shook her head. His stomach lurched and he followed her into the hospital room. He sat on the bed beside Rose and held her tightly.

"Rose. James." began Hannah. "I'm afraid that the girl has died." she said sadly. "I'm so, so sorry."

They both cried. Rose nosily, James silently.

"I'm sorry too." said Victoire, conjuring handkerchiefs and passing them around. "We'll leave you in peace, but remember that your little boy is doing just fine."

James nodded, and the caregivers left.

"James." moaned Rose, her heart breaking. "Our daughter."

"I know." said James. "I know. We didn't even get to know her. She doesn't have a name. Our little princess."

"Eadlyn." murmured Rose through her sobbing.

"Really?" asked James.

Rose nodded "It means princess."

"Eadlyn." repeated James. He had managed to stop crying, but he felt like something was gone. A hole that couldn't be filled. "And the boy?"

"I don't know." said Rose, who was now hiccupping.

"I like Noah." suggested James.

"Comfort and longevity. Okay."

"We have to be strong for him." said James, helping Rose dab at her face. She was still crying, but less loudly.

"I know. But our baby! And he'll never know his sister." exclaimed Rose, burying her face against James' shirt.

James eyes brimmed again at the thought. "He knows her. Maybe even better than we do."

"James." mumbled Rose into the shirt "What if..."

"Don't worry." said James. "He's going to be fine." Although at the moment he felt like it would never be fine again.

"Promise?"

"I promise. Do you want to come back with me?" asked James.

"James. I... I want my Mum." said Rose.

James understood. He wanted his Mum too. "Okay." he said "Okay."

* * *

They Flooed to Rose's house. Her parents were at work, so they had about half an hour to wait.

"Can you make tea please?" asked Rose quietly.

"Er, sure." James went into the kitchen and returned several minutes later holding a mug.

Rose sipped and spat tea across the room. "What is this?"

"Tea... I think." replied James, grabbing the cup and sniffing it. "What does it taste like?"

"Really strong tea. And... lemon? It's bitter."

"I added honey." said James.

"Bring me the bottle." ordered Rose. He did. "That's dish soap!"

"Wha – why do your parents have dish soap? They can magically clean the dishes!"

"Mum likes to wash them. She says it's relaxing." explained Rose.

Just then green flames burst in the fireplace, and Hermione appeared. "Oh!" she cried, startled.

"Mum!" Rose burst into a fresh round of tears and threw herself at Hermione. Hermione was momentarily taken aback, but then she helped Rose over to the couch.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" asked Hermione.

"Mum. My baby..."

"It's kind of a long story." said James.

Hermione nodded. "Why don't you start at the beginning then?" She shifted to face James, still supporting Rose.

"Well, we were having a boy and a girl. Except, they had some problems. And we were just at the hospital, and well, the girl... she died." explained James.

"Eadlyn." murmured Rose.

"Oh Rose, I'm so sorry." said Hermione "And James."

"We know we're not supposed to be here, but Rose needed to see you." said James.

"It's okay." replied Hermione. "I'm sorry about that. It's not your fault, there were just... a lot of things. After everything that happened to us, when we were kids... well I just wanted it to be alright for you. And..." she paused.

"You don't have to explain." said James.

"No, I do, because I should have been there for you. I just, I used to worry a lot, about getting pregnant. When we were on the run, especially, I knew I could have... been taken advantage of. Then in the early days with Ron, before we were married. I didn't want to lose everything, since his family was so nice, and he and Harry were my only friends... my parents, they would have abandoned me. So what we all wanted was for you to be safe, and that was gone."

"It was hard." replied James.

"We had each other." said Rose, sitting up. She smiled at James.

Hermione blinked. "You're in love." she said, surprised.

"What?" asked Rose.

"We are." confirmed James. "It's difficult. We were alone see, and we're going to be parents together, so... it just sort of happened. We're sorry."

"Don't be." said Hermione finally, after a long pause. "We should have expected... all alone."

"Will Uncle Ron be home soon?" asked James.

"Yes, but I'll deal with him. Why don't you take Rose upstairs, and come down and we'll talk before he gets here?"

* * *

Once Rose was asleep, Hermione made fresh tea and she and James both took a mug and sat at the kitchen table.

"Will you be staying?" asked Hermione.

"Er, I don't know. I guess Rose doesn't have class until Monday." realized James. "I have to work tonight though."

"I'll ask Rose later what she wants. Where are you working?"

"Casey's Cauldron, in Hogsmeade. It's been open about eight months, I think." replied James.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know. Just to be here, I guess. Rose misses you."

Hermione sighed sadly. "I don't know what happened. Are you going to talk to your parents?"

"I guess so. I'm sad, but Rose is heartbroken."

"Well, that's normal. The baby is inside her, and there's a really strong bond. You need to grieve too though, James. I know you want to be strong, for Rose and for your son, but this is really sad." Hermione informed him.

James looked curiously at his Aunt. "Er, how do you know, if you don't mind me asking?"

Hermione never would have told James all of this a year ago. But he had obviously matured so much since then, and now he was going to be a father. "We had a lot of trouble trying to conceive at first. And when we did, I miscarried, early. Then Rose was born and I loved her so much, we wanted another. However we had difficulties again conceiving Hugo. Both were really easy pregnancies. So once we finally got pregnant a third time I thought he would be just fine too. But I miscarried again. That baby though, I had carried almost to term, and my heart broke. We decided to stop. I... I was a little jealous of Rose, that she could have a baby so easily even when she was trying not to. I didn't want her to know that though."

"Of course not." said James. "But ...if you told her about miscarrying, and how you got through it... it might help her."

"Perhaps." agreed Hermione.

"I wouldn't ask, but I can't let her fall apart. Our other baby is in there as healthy as... well healthy enough anyway, and... I can't do this by myself." admitted James.

"Okay." said Hermione. "Okay. I'll tell her."

"Thank you." replied James. "I really have to get going now though. Er, I'll get in touch."


	19. Chapter 19

Rose woke up around nine. She still felt incredibly exhausted, but she got up, wrapped a blanket around herself, and stumbled downstairs.

"Hey Rose." called Hermione softly. "Come in the kitchen and I'll get you some dinner."

Rose entered the kitchen. "I'm not hungry."

Hermione began heating up leftovers with her wand. "Your baby is, sweetheart." she said softly.

Rose started crying again. "My baby is dead!" she exclaimed.

Hermione put down the food and went over to her. "I know Rose. But your other baby, he needs his Mummy to be strong for him right now. You're allowed to grieve, but you need to eat. Go sit in the living room and I'll bring your dinner and tell you a story."

Rose did as she was told. "You're going to tell me a story?"

"Yes." And Hermione did tell a story, about two people who wanted a child very, very, much, but when they finally almost got one, it died. But they didn't give up, and when they tried again, their child survived. "And she grew up to be the most wonderful girl in the world, and her parents love her very much."

"Really?" asked Rose.

"Really. Be brave, Rose. Your baby needs you." Rose nodded. "Your dad wants to see you."

"Is he mad?"

"No." lied Hermione "He's not mad."

* * *

"So." said Hermione after they had all greeted each other and acknowledged their past mistakes. "Tell us everything."

Rose took a deep breath and began. "I stayed with Sophie during Christmas break. Then I went back to school and broke..." Rose paused. She had been going to say she had broken up with Scorpius, but her parents didn't know about him, and now they never would. "...the news to Professor Vector." finished Rose. There, that worked. "Oh, and I went to St. Mungo's. The next thing that happened was meeting James on Valentine's Day, and we worked some things out. And then well, everyone found out in the paper."

"Apparently that was partially my fault." commented Ron.

"It's fine, Dad." replied Rose. "Then Lily and I stayed with James during Easter, and we planned."

"Tell us about the babies, and then you can tell us about these plans." suggested Hermione.

"They're fraternal twins. A boy and a girl. The girl has anencephaly, which is an incompletely formed brain ...they told us she... she would die... but they didn't know when. It could have been years." said Rose sadly. Hermione squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "The boy has... I forget what it's called. An incompletely formed spinal column. They'll be able to tell when he's born what kind he has and what treatment he needs. Then he has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and... Aortic Atresia I think? That's an underdeveloped left heart and no aortic valve. I haven't looked into it too much yet so I'm not really sure... they said he'll need multiple surgeries, but he's supposed to be fine. He also has a cleft lip, but they said they can fix that."

"Merlin's pants!" said Hermione. "All that on a tiny baby?"

Ron shushed her. "He'll be fine. Wizard surgery isn't like Muggle surgery. You know how well Harry's recovering from his heart attack. It's only with magical injuries and diseases that there's trouble."

"Yes, but then why are there all these problems, if wizards don't get sick like Muggles?" asked Hermione.

"I think it's because they're all physical things." said Rose.

"Yeah." agreed Ron. "Harry still had a heart attack. We can still break bones."

"Of course." realised Hermione. "I wasn't thinking... silly."

Ron kissed her. "You're not silly. Now Rose, tell us about your plans please."

"We're going to live together." began Rose.

"What?!" exclaimed Ron.

"Just like if we were dormmates Dad. It saves money. And we need both of us to take care of the... the baby." Each of these little moments where Rose made a slip of the tongue and didn't know what to say felt like someone stabbing her heart.

Hermione could see the practicality to Rose's announcement. "Okay, can you afford that sweetheart? Where will you live?"

"We're buying a house. In Hampshire. We just need eight hundred more galleons or so." explained Rose.

Ron appeared to be having a fit. "Your father would like to know if you've considered that decision enough, as a house is a major responsibility." translated Hermione.

"Well, we can afford it, and we've found the perfect one, and it will be really nice to have some stability." said Rose. "It's small, but it's really nice, and it has everything we should need for a long time.

"What if you don't like living together?" asked Ron.

"We're just going to put up with each other Dad." Rose retorted "I know you're concerned about us making such a big commitment to each other, but we've already both committed to our children. So we're in this together now no matter what, as partners."

"I'm glad to hear that." said Hermione.

"James is going to keep working. He's done a lot of research, and he says it will be enough. I'm going to stay home with our baby." continued Rose.

"Are you okay with that?" asked Hermione.

"I'll be fine." said Rose. "That's all. Can I go to bed?"

"Sure."

* * *

Hermione knocked on the door once Rose was under the covers. She came in and sat on the edge of the mattress.

"Hey." she said softly. Rose looked at her. "You're being very brave sweetheart, and I'm proud of you."

Rose simply nodded.

"I was wondering if you'd like a baby shower." asked Hermione.

"A baby shower?" asked Rose. "I don't really feel like a party Mum."

"No." agreed Hermione. "It would just be a... a gathering, I suppose. I just think you could use some womanly advice before you try to make a life on your own."

"Can't you give me that?" replied Rose.

"Of course. Ask me anything. But it's different for everyone. Sometimes you need more than one perspective. Sometimes different people have had different experiences. You're living your own life Rose, and sometimes I feel like I know nothing about it. Wouldn't you like to know more about babies and raising a family and how to have a good relationship with your partner?" asked Hermione.

"If you want to." agreed Rose finally.

"Thank you. Besides, that's where you get all the stuff you need for the baby." said Hermione.

"Okay."


	20. Chapter 20

Rose slept for most of Saturday, while James worked.

Sunday found everyone sitting around the Potter's table for brunch. It was a bit tense. Ron had welcomed Rose back, mostly, but he didn't seem quite so keen on James. And while Ginny had let the pair into her house, she was apparently still holding something against them. Harry looked tired, but also happy. Hermione however was back to normal, and looked as though she intended to cause some reconciliation.

"Ron, I know you're upset with the whole situation, but it is what it is." she said firmly. "Although neither Rose nor James was behaving as we would have liked, they did take necessary precautions, and it was just a mistake. Ginny, I know this has caused a lot of stress, but it really isn't the kids' fault. So can we all get along please?"

"Wait what?" asked James. "Mum? You were mad that we caused stress?"

Ginny sighed. "Yes. Harry was under a lot of pressure at work, and I didn't think he needed anything else to deal with."

"I was fine Ginny." said Harry.

"You had a heart attack!" cried Ginny.

"We already agreed that I will cut down my workload. But family comes before anything, even my health." argued Harry.

"No it doesn't." said Ginny. "Anyway James, I thought it might be easiest if you left and worked it out on your own. I didn't intend to desert you completely, but I got a little emotional."

"You don't have to live by yourselves." said Harry. "We're all here for you now."

Rose and James glanced at each other. "No." said Rose. "It was my suggestion in the first place, and I meant it."

"And it didn't make sense to me at the time, but it does now." continued James. "Besides, I've already bought the house."

"About that." said Ron "How long will you be living together?"

They exchanged another glance. "At least until our son is all grown up." said Rose finally.

"You're making me a grandma at forty-two." accused Ginny.

"Your Mum really seems to enjoy it." said Harry. "We'll just have that much longer to experience it." Ginny smiled at him.

"When exactly is the baby due Rose?" asked Hermione.

"August 25th. Except with twins they induce earlier, so we had planned August 4th. But now, well we talked about finding a balance between how early we can get Eadlyn out and how long we can keep Noah in. So Hannah was thinking sometime in July." answered Rose.

"Now I'm a grandma at forty-one!" exclaimed Ginny.

* * *

Rose had to return to school Monday. She tearfully told Lily, who broke the news to the other cousins. Rose spent most of the week in bed. She couldn't get any sleep. Every time she laid down her head she thought of Eadlyn, and cried for the lost future of her sweet little baby. The only place she did manage to get any sleep was during class, but her professors forgave her and Albus lent her his notes. During the long, lonely nights Rose focused on studying for exams. Lily brought her food, which she forced herself to eat for Noah. She talked to him often, and Eadlyn too. Rose also read her pregnancy books, and tried to prepare herself for what would supposedly be the hardest and most rewarding experience of her life.

James wrote frequently, just to ask how she was and talk about how he felt himself. He sent stories of funny things that had happened that day and his latest plans for their future. He asked how Rose's studies were going and whether she had any ideas for middle names. James mentioned that totalling their savings, they still needed seven hundred and eighty-three galleons. Eventually the letters took on a sort of love letterish quality. James talked about missing Rose and things that reminded him of her. When she felt up to it, Rose would reply, and although she never had much to say other than Hannah had decided on July 8th for the new labour date and never anything upbeat, James was glad for her letters. She signed each one with three kisses, and he placed a random number on his.

Exam week came and went. Rose had to take a sleeping potion to ensure that she would stay awake for class, but her extra late night studying seemed to have paid off, and soon enough she was sitting in a carriage next to Lily on the ride to Hogsmeade, comparing results.

* * *

James paced back and forth. He had managed to get the night off work, and was just waiting for Rose to arrive.

The carriages pulled into the station, and finally there she was. James opened his arms and Rose climbed out of the carriage and went into them. She couldn't run very well because although her charms were hiding it, she was quite large.

"Hey." James smiled down at her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." replied Rose shyly.

Lily came up beside them. "Bye! See you soon. Write me Rose. And you too James!" she ordered.

"Sure, sure." said James. He waved at Lily as she boarded the train. They watched as it slowly pulled out of the station.

James took Roses hand. "What do you want to do now?"

"We'd better take my luggage back to the flat." said Rose. They set off and soon reached James' small second first floor flat.

"Do you want to go out for dinner?" asked James.

Rose considered. "Maybe not tonight. I'm pretty exhausted."

"Okay, I'll go pick something up." offered James. He put his cloak back on and said goodbye before heading out the door.

When James returned half an hour later he found Rose asleep on the couch. James sighed. He had been receiving letters from Lily, Albus, and even one from Roxanne, informing him of their concerns about Rose. Her sleeping patterns of late were abominable. James covered her with a blanket and moved her trunk and bags into the other room. He noticed some parenting books poking out of one and decided it might be a good idea to read those, so both James and Rose were quickly settled in for the night.


	21. Chapter 21

Rose opened her eyes. She could see James over by the kitchen. "What time is it?"

"About eleven. In the morning." he replied.

"Oh wow, I'm sorry." apologized Rose.

James came over and sat next to her. "No, it's fine. You need to sleep. I have to work in an hour, but we can have brunch."

"Do you have any fruit?" asked Rose.

"Er, no. I have bread and... that's it. Unless you want leftover fish and chips." said James sheepishly.

Rose stomach turned. "Noah doesn't like that idea. Do you have tea?"

"Yes!" James jumped up. "I have tea!"

"Thanks." said Rose. "No dish soap this time though. I'll go shopping later."

"Great." agreed James as he pulled out the tea. "The food money is in this cupboard."

While the tea was brewing Rose went and changed, deciding to shower later. She returned and James discovered that he had no milk. She poured a cup anyway.

"I've been thinking about middle names." said Rose.

"Me too. Someone in the family, right?" asked James.

"Yes ...I'd really like for the girl to be Hermione." admitted Rose. "I know she doesn't even need a middle name, but... it would mean a lot to me."

"Of course." said James. "If it makes you happy. Eadlyn Hermione Potter. That's er, interesting."

Rose scowled at him. "Well I like it. But I don't have any ideas for Noah."

"I'll think about it while I'm at work." promised James. "I really have to get going."

* * *

The ten galleon allowance for food jingling in her pocket, Rose made her way through town. She wasn't quite sure where she was, as she hadn't wanted to brave possible reporters in Hogsmeade. The press had died down a lot, but everyone was taking an interest, and it would probably continue until after the babies were born. So far no one had leaked the miscarriage, which Rose was very glad about.

She ambled up the street looking for a grocery. Her baby shower was Wednesday, and she was supposed to be in labour Saturday. It felt a little unreal, mainly because she hadn't had a full nine month term. Rose wanted to get the house before the babies were born, but they still had a ways to go financially. James' six month lease on the apartment would expire on the first of August. They had talked about seeing if someone would lend them the money, but decided to wait to ask.

Finally Rose found a store and purchased milk, eggs, bread, and butter. She also stretched the budget enough to get some ham and cheese, as well as a few vegetables and a case of strawberries.

Rose decided to go to the park and read for the rest of the afternoon. She sat on a bench by the playground, but it was a bad choice. The happy, playful children made her start to cry for her daughter. Rose felt foolish and wiped the tears from her eyes, but before she could get up an elderly woman sat down next to her.

"Hello. Why, you're crying!" said the lady.

"Sorry." said Rose. "I'm pregnant."

"I can see that." confirmed the woman.

Rose didn't think it was any of the stranger's business why she was crying, but the woman had a sort of motherly air about her that made Rose want to confess.

"I miscarried one of my twins." she whispered.

"Oh, love!" said the woman. She impulsively hugged Rose. "I'm so sorry."

Rose sniffled. "Are those your grandchildren?"

"Yes. I'm Angela."

"Rose." replied Rose.

"I can't say I know what you're going through Rose." said Angela. "I had four children, eleven grandchildren, and now one great grandchild, and every one of those babies was just fine. But the grieving, well, my husband passed away last fall, and it feels like part of me is gone now."

"Exactly." said Rose. "I never even got to know my little girl."

"I don't know if that's better or worse." mused Angela. "Ryan was my golf partner, my lawn bowling partner, my dance partner, and my life partner. We met when I was only sixteen, and we got married three years later. He passed just after our fifty-fifth wedding anniversary."

"Wow." said Rose.

"And what about you dear?" asked Angela.

"I'm sixteen too. And I think my partner and I are going to be together for a very long time." replied Rose.

"Oh, good. You're awfully young to be a single mother. How far along are you, if you don't mind me asking?" queried Angela.

Rose shook her head. "Thirty-three weeks. But I'm supposed to give birth on Saturday."

"Well!" exclaimed Angela. "Are you ready for that?"

"I hope we will be. I haven't even gone shopping yet, because my baby shower is on Wednesday. We don't need very much though. I just wish we could move into our house, but we need eight hundred more – " Rose cut herself short. "Pounds."

"Yes dear, but I meant are you ready? To give birth? To take care of a child?" asked Angela.

"I don't know." admitted Rose. "I've done a lot of reading. But as for the baby, I can't wait." she smiled.

"You know what? I like you dear. You remind me of myself when I was your age. I'm going to give you your eight hundred pounds. I certainly don't need it." announced Angela.

"Oh, no!" protested Rose. "I couldn't let you."

"Yes you can." said Angela. She handed Rose a check for the money. "Here's my address dear. Why don't you write me a letter sometime?" suggested Angela.

"I will, I promise." agreed Rose. "Thank you so much, Angela, but I don't have a bank account."

"Who do you know that does?" asked Angela.

Rose wavered. "Hermione Granger." she said finally "Thank you."

Angela tore up the other check and made out a new one. After waving at Rose, the elderly lady walked away. Rose realised that the eggs were going to spoil if she didn't get them home, so she went behind a tree and apparated back to the flat.

* * *

 _Dear Angela,_

 _Thank you ever so much for the money. James says thanks too. I've enclosed a picture of our little house, so you can see just how much this means to us. I can't really repay the favour, but we've decided to name our children Eadlyn Hermione and Noah Ryan, if it's okay with you. If your husband was half as kind as you are, well, that's the sort of person we want our son to grow up to be._

 _I hope you're doing okay. After seeing how well you're managing your loss, I've resolved to do better with Eadlyn's. Noah needs me to be strong, and I realise that now. I'll try to send you a picture after he's born, if I can find the right camera. We'll have to get together again sometime. Thanks again._

 _Rose_


	22. Chapter 22

James woke Rose on the day of the baby shower. "Wake up Rosie, you have to get dressed."

"Uggh." said Rose.

"I have to leave for work, but I'm off tonight. I'll see you at dinner. Don't forget to invite them." said James. He kissed her head.

Once showered, Rose stood in front of the bed. Several of her maternity outfits were laid out on top. Finally she picked out a dress with a plain white bodice, and knee length purple skirt with matching buttons on the bodice. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, as she didn't have the energy for much else.

Hermione seemed to be going all out for this baby shower and she had enlisted all the women to help her. In order to ensure Rose arrived at the right place at the right time, Albus was being sent to escort her. He Flooed in momentarily.

"Hey Rose. Ready?"

"Almost. I have to pack my bag." replied Rose.

"Okay." said Albus. "Er, Rose?"

"Yes?"

Albus hesitated. "Well, remember when I borrowed your notes?"

"Sure." agreed Rose.

"Your work with Gamp's Law was stuck in with them." admitted Albus. "Well, I sort of read them."

"That's okay." replied Rose.

"Yeah." said Albus "But well... I did it."

Rose head popped up from where she was rummaging on the other side of the sofa. "What?"

"I solved it. Food can be created out of thin air."

"Seriously?" asked Rose. "That's amazing! We'll have to talk later. James and I want to take you and Lily to dinner tonight. Can you meet us here at six?"

"Alright." agreed Albus. "We'd better get going."

* * *

Albus left immediately after arriving, and Rose was greeted by her mother. "You look lovely sweetheart." said Hermione.

"Thanks Mum. Is everyone here?" inquired Rose.

"Yes they're all here." replied Hermione. "I didn't invite too many people, because I didn't want you to be overwhelmed. Just the family, and Hannah and Luna. Aunt Angie brought games for everyone to play, and then we'll eat. Then you can open your presents, and we'll have tea and chat a little." The two women entered Harry and Ginny's expansive living room. After hugging her grandma, various aunts, and female cousins, Rose finally got to sit down, and Angelina stood up.

She handed out little cards and pencils to all the women. "Okay, so for each animal, write down the name of the baby animal." She instructed.

Rose looked at her card. She knew some of them easily, like a baby cat was a kitten and a baby owl was an owlet, but some were harder, like a baby butterfly. When time was up it turned out that Luna had won, which made sense considering she worked with animals every day.

Next Angelina took Rose into the kitchen and measured her stomach with a piece of string. Each woman had to cut a piece of string the size they thought Rose was. Hannah narrowly won that game, but refused the prize because she had been measuring Rose every single week and knew exactly. Instead the prize went to Lucy.

The rest of the shower went smoothly. Each woman gave Rose a baby outfit, ranging in size from newborn to one year. There were sleepers and teeny overalls and little knit caps. Rose oohed and ahhed over each adorable garment. Grandma Molly gave Rose a hand knitted baby blanket. Finally, Hermione and Ginny gifted Rose with a set of books on parenting and enough money for new nursery furnishings and Rose hugged both of them together.

Rose revealed her baby names, and Hermione was moved to tears. Finally all the women had cups of tea and were sitting around chatting.

"What's birth like?" asked Rose.

"It was the hardest, most painful thing I've ever had to do, and it made me hate my husband. I screamed bloody murder, and I think I might have slapped a nurse, but that part's a little hazy." said Angelina. The women laughed, although most of them knew there was at least some truth in this.

"Angelina!" exclaimed Audrey. "Are you trying to terrify her? Really Rose, it is the most rewarding thing you will ever do, no matter what happens."

"Exactly." agreed Luna. "Pregnancy was a wonderful and enlightening experience, and birth was just the same. We did it at home and..."

Ginny interrupted Luna's telling of the strange birthing rituals she and Rolf had taken part in. "Well, I've done things far more painful, but it certainly was exhausting. You'll be glad that the pregnancy is over though Rose."

"No, no." said Fleur. "It was wonderful. The whole thing. It was hardly painful at all. The most natural process you could go through." Fleur, who for some reason seemed to have had absolute none of the problems other women experienced in this area of life, was shot several dirty looks from around the room.

"Well, I don't know about the painless part," added Grandma Molly "but I know you can do it. I did it seven times."

Rose nodded, trying to take in all of this new information. Basically all that she got was that pregnancy was unique for every woman. "Mum?" she asked.

Hermione smiled at her. "I didn't like being pregnant. But giving birth was wonderful. It certainly wasn't easy, but it was like all of my hard work paid off, and I finally had a beautiful little daughter. Besides Rose, you have excellent healers, and they'll make sure everything goes perfectly."

Rose smiled at Hannah and Victoire. "I'm sure they will."

"Here." said Audrey. "Why doesn't everyone write down one piece of advice they have for Rose, and she can read them at home later."

The women agreed, and they all began to ponder and scribble on the papers that were passed out. Audrey collected them in a little box she conjured, and gave it to Rose.

When it started to get late Rose thanked everyone again and watched them leave. She said goodbye to her mother and went home herself.

* * *

Rose had a while before James, Albus, and Lily would be back, so she opened the little box and began reading her advice.

 _It's never too early to teach your kids about the dangers of not confirming the identity of their sexual partners. -Roxanne_

 _I don't know what to write. I think you'll make a great mother Rose. If I have kids, I'm coming to you for advice. -Molly_

 _I was a little like you Rose. I fell in love with someone that I had just been friends with, and though he wasn't my relation, he was my ex-boyfriend's relative. And we had an unplanned pregnancy too (don't tell Fred that). So I can imagine what you're going through. My best advice is that you should keep your son far away from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, unless you want to have to search through your food at every meal for canary creams and ton tongue toffees. And that's the least of it. -Angelina_

 _Sometimes you need take time to yourself. When that happens I'm right here and willing to babysit. -Lily_

 _Close your eyes, take a deep breath, open them and look at the world. It's a beautiful place. If you let love, laughter, and joy into your home, Noah will grow up an exceptional young man. -Audrey_

 _As I've said, pregnancy, labour, and motherhood are all natural and beautiful things. Almost every woman in the world has done it. Whatever happens, take it in stride. -Fleur_

 _You might not be married, but this is a partnership. I know you'll make James do half of the work, but make sure you let him experience everything too. You love your children, but James is probably pretty unprepared – he won't expect to fall so deeply in love with them, and he might neglect you. Be patient. -Ginny_

 _Really Rose, you're very lucky in some ways. You'll get to spend such a long, wonderful time with Noah. Savour the extra years. -Lucy_

 _As an only child who doesn't have kids myself, I know nothing about children. Sorry. But we've both been training for this moment really hard for the last several months, and I'm glad that I got to know you better Rose. I'll do my best to make sure everything goes smoothly. -Hannah_

 _It's okay to be yourself. Why would you be anything else? This is my life motto, and we can apply it to your situation. If you love James, then that's all you have to do. The world might turn against you, but for the most part they're beneath your notice anyway. Of course, it's nice to have friends. -Luna_

 _Congratulations! My advice is to be calm during the birth. Otherwise you might just scare me off when it's my turn. No, I'm not pregnant ...yet.-Victoire_

 _Whatever Noah does, whoever he turns out to be, you'll accept him. You may not know that yet, but I hear that's how it happens. I think you should make sure that he knows that, so he never has to fear telling you something. -Dominique_

 _Be strict. That way when your children come to Grandma's house I can spoil them. -Grandma_

 _Sometimes your children need freedom. You'll have to step back, and let go of their hand as they explore the world on their own. When this happens, lean on you partner, and know that your kids will come back. But sometimes your children will need you to hold them as tightly as possible. When this happens, never let go. I love you Rose, forever. – Mum_


	23. Chapter 23

"So, this is nice." said Lily as Rose and the three siblings waited for their meals to arrive. "But what's the reasoning behind it?"

"Lily." said James. "Can't a man and his pregnant cousin just take two of their favourite people out to dinner without needing to have a reason?"

"James." admonished Rose. People had looked round at that comment. Because James worked there, Casey's Cauldron had barred the press from entering the restaurant tonight, but Rose thought that it was unnecessary to flaunt their situation. "Actually, there is a reason." she smiled at her cousins. "James and I wanted to ask you if you would be Noah's godparents.

Lily shrieked and knocked over her pumpkin juice. "Rosie! Seriously?" she jumped and up and came around the table to hug Rose. "Hear that Noah? I'm your godmother."

"Wow." said Albus. "Us? Really? Why?"

"You were there for us. So we know you'll be there for Noah." said James simply.

"Well, I know Lily was always there to support you guys, but what exactly did I do?" asked Albus.

"You promised not to hate me. You had no idea what had happened, but you promised, and it gave me enough strength to tell Mum and Dad. I didn't know what they would say. At that point I didn't even have Rose, at least not like I do now." James smiled at Rose.

"Hopefully Noah won't need anyone like that." added Rose. "If we've learned anything, it's to be there for your children, because everyone makes mistakes. But if he does, that's what you're there for."

"Wow." repeated Albus. "Okay well then, for my first official act as godfather, I would like to present you with this." Without any further warning he pulled out a sack of galleons and plopped it down on the table.

"Albus!" exclaimed Rose. James was speechless. "What is that?!"

"That," announced Albus "is your advance payment for agreeing to publish in Transfiguration Today."

Now Rose was speechless also.

"How much is it?" asked Lily.

"500 galleons." answered Albus.

"Merlin's pants." whispered Rose softly.

"All you have to do is write a paper and let them publish it." explained Albus.

"Albus." said Rose, recovering from her shock "You finished it. I can't write a paper without you. You take this." She pushed the sack towards him.

"Rose. I told you. I'm doing this as Noah's godfather. We can definitely work on the paper together, but I don't need money now. I can get a share after when they pay us the rest." said Albus. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was doing this Rose," he continued "but I knew you needed the money, so I contacted them."

"Al." said James. "This is...this is... thank you."

"You'll be famous." said Lily.

Albus looked at her. "Yeah, I guess so." he said as realisation spread across his face. "Huh."

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their meals.

* * *

After bidding Albus and Lily goodnight, Rose and James returned to James flat.

"I suppose you want to go to bed now?" asked James. He had been waiting to be with Rose since she got back from school.

"Yes. Definitely." replied Rose.

James turned around to lock the door and hang up his cloak. "Okay well I'll..." he trailed off as he turned around and saw Rose was no longer in the room. He entered his bedroom and saw that Rose had lain down on the bed and gone straight to sleep. James sighed. He knew that Rose couldn't be blamed for anything when she was pregnant, but he was aware that her exhaustion likely had more to do with her lingering depression.

"Okay." said James to himself. "I guess I'll go take a shower. And make it a cold one." he added as he looked down at the sleeping figure before him.

But when he awoke the next morning and saw the damp patch on the pillow under Rose's cheek, he forgave her entirely.

"Rosie?" James said softly, nudging her. "Wake up."

Rose blinked. "Is it morning?" she moaned groggily.

James pulled her up so she was resting her head on his shoulder. "Yeah it's morning. I have to go to work."

"When are you off?" asked Rose, rubbing her eyes.

"Well... I'm taking a few extra shifts so I can get leave later. I'll be home around nine." he replied.

"Mmm kay." said Rose, sitting up more.

"So what are you going to do today?" asked James.

"Um... oh right, I have to go round up everything that we're borrowing." remembered Rose. "I need a nursing pillow from Aunt Fleur, a carrier from Aunt Audrey, my old high chair, and a stroller and crib from your mum. Grandma said she had a bunch of things I could pick up too."

"Can't this family keep all of its baby stuff in one place?" asked James.

"Do you know how many babies this family has produced?" asked Rose. "We would need a whole other house."

"Yeah, that's probably true. Okay, well I have to leave now, but I brought you some tea. Oh, and don't bother with the crib, I'll take care of it later." instructed James.

"Alright." said Rose, though she wasn't sure why James was concerned with that one item specifically.

Once he was gone Rose set down her tea cup and went straight back to sleep.

* * *

"Hi Grandma." Rose greeted Molly Weasley Sr. affectionately.

"Oh, hello Rose darling!" replied Molly cheerfully. "Have a seat. I just made lunch."

"Thanks." said Rose.

Molly ladled large bowls of potato soup for herself and Rose, and set out a platter of bread and cheese as well. "Pumpkin juice, dear?"

"Yes please." Rose nodded. "Where's grandpa?"

"Oh, he's out tinkering in the shed. He said not to wait. So did you manage to round everything up?" asked Molly.

"Yep, it's all back at the flat. It was hard to find space to put it all." said Rose.

"Well, that will be easier in your new house. When do you expect to move in?" asked Molly.

"Mmm." thought Rose "After Noah is born. I was hoping for before so we could be all settled, but I guess it won't be happening."

Molly patted Rose's hand sympathetically. "Look at it this way dear, now you can be all settled with the baby before you have to move in."

Rose smiled slightly. "I don't expect to be all settled with the baby ever."

"I suppose every week does bring something new in these early years. But you'll get used to it." said Molly.

"I hope so." agreed Rose. She sighed.

They continued chatting until lunch was over, and then made their way up to the second floor.

"Grandpa already brought everything down from the attic." explained Molly "You can look through those boxes and take anything you want too, but clothes are over here. You can make a pile of what you'd like, and I'll go through the rest, because it's probably time we got rid of some of this old stuff."

Molly had hoped to spend a pleasant afternoon bonding with her granddaughter, but Rose seemed a little off. She had conversed properly during lunch, but she wasn't saying anything now. It wasn't until after Rose left with her box of stuff that Molly realized Rose had been sadly setting all of Ginny's old things in a separate pile.

* * *

James returned late that night as he had said, and climbed into bed where Rose was reading.

"Did you have a good day?" he asked.

"It was okay." replied Rose. She glanced at James, and then set down the book.

James rolled over on top of her and began kissing her collarbone. "James." she said tiredly. He ignored this, and made his way up to her lips. When she kissed him back he kept going enthusiastically.

After their pyjamas had been discarded on the floor and they were progressing with their activities, Rose suddenly burst into tears.

"Rose?" exclaimed James worriedly. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

Rose shook her head. "No, I just... I can't. Don't be mad, please." she begged.

"Rose!" exclaimed James. He lowered his voice. "I want to be very clear about this. I will never ever get mad at you for not wanting to have sex. I promise. But you have to tell me what's wrong."

She sniffled. "I don't know, I just can't."

James pulled her close to him and cuddled her tightly. "It's okay. Just tell me. Whenever you're ready. "

"It... doesn't feel right. To... be happy ...when Eadlyn can't. Or... have sex. When she never will. Or it just feels... wrong. Like people will say 'you had sex right after your baby died?!'"

"Hey." said James "Hey. Don't think like that. Eadlyn wants you to be happy. I want you to be happy. And nobody else matters. It's perfectly okay to have sex. And it's okay to feel sad, but that doesn't mean you can never be happy."

"I know." replied Rose. "But don't think I can yet. Sorry. I just want to sleep."

"Alright." said James soothingly. "Don't apologize. Lay right down and I'll cuddle you until you fall asleep."

So once again, the pair drifted to sleep, Rose crying gently, and James wishing desperately for her to feel better.


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note: Hi everyone! I would really love to get some reviews for this story. I do read them and input your suggestions, and I will return the favour. Thanks for reading!

\- daredyoutokissme

* * *

Before work, James Flooed over to his parents' house. Harry had already left for the office, but Ginny and the kids were still there.

"Hey, Mum." he said after kissing her cheek. Ginny was surprised. James hadn't done that since he was a little boy.

"Hi James. What brings you here?" she asked.

James sighed as he pulled out a mug and began to make coffee. Ginny hadn't realized James drank coffee. Had she really lost touch with her eldest son in the past year, or was he just maturing quickly?

"I'm worried about Rose." he replied.

"We all are." agreed Ginny. "What's wrong?"

"She's grieving. She's eating properly again, which is great, but she sleeps all the time."

"Right, well that's normal." said Ginny. "I think she'll be okay."

"I know, I just... the baby's coming, and ...I want her to be happy. It's going to be a very exciting and sad time, but I want to make sure she can be excited too. It's going to be her job to take care of Noah, after all. I don't want it to be hard for her, but I don't know if she can juggle her emotions." said James.

"Mmmm. Has she said anything to you, about what the problem might be exactly?"

"Not really," replied James "but I think she just needs someone to tell her how to get through it, and that it's going to be okay. I mean, I tell her that, but she needs someone with their own experiences, who can relate."

"Well, that might be difficult. I think your best option is just to be peaceful. Try to excite her about Noah." suggested Ginny.

"I'm planning a big surprise for her, and I'm really hoping that she might feel a little better." said James wishfully.

"And how about you?" inquired Ginny. "Maybe Rose needs someone to grieve with her."

"I don't think so. But I'm doing okay. I think about her sometimes – Eadlyn, I mean – and it can be quite sad. I've cried, even." James admitted. "But I didn't really know her. And it's not like we really wanted this baby and planned and hoped. She just sort of was coming to us, and then before we could meet her or it could really sink in, she left."

"That's true, although I think you're understating it a little." replied Ginny "It's different for Rose. She carried this baby. They formed a really strong bond, back when she had no one. You never felt that, because you had her."

"Yeah." agreed James. "Thanks, Mum. I really have to get to work."

After James left, Ginny pondered the problem. Rose needed someone who could connect with her. A brainwave hit her, and she quickly began searching for a quill and parchment.

* * *

 _Dearest Rose,_

 _I am writing to you because your Aunt wrote to me because James went to her with concerns about you. Also, I am very concerned about you as well after your visit yesterday. James said you needed someone in the same situation as you. Well unfortunately, that's not me. Every pregnancy and every baby are unique. Bill was very easy on both counts. Charlie however, was a little slob. He always had food in his hair and drool on his chin. Your father wasn't bad as a baby, but pregnancy was a nightmare. Nausea, cravings, back pain, I had it all. I was relieved that Ginny wasn't the same, although she did like to kick. Percy was a different sort of nightmare. Carrying him was very smooth. He was a very quiet baby, but he would never sleep, and when he got tired he would just throw a fit! Then there were my twins. After three babies, I thought I was basically an expert, but I wasn't prepared for twins. I'm sure you can relate to all the difficulties that two babies can cause. I know too, that you wouldn't trade them for anything. I never had a miscarriage. I never experienced the loss of a baby, and my heart goes out to you Rose. But I have lost a child, and I'm hoping that in me you can find a companion, someone who understands, marginally, what you're going through._

 _I was a mess. There were so many dead, but I could think only of my baby. No one was upset with me for this. But the problem was that my baby had another half, his twin, who was grieving just as much as I was. So I had to be strong. Even though Fred was gone, there was George, and he needed me, just as Noah will need you once he is born. The best advice I can give you, Rose, is to lean on your partner. Your grandpa, who was grieving just as much as I was, was my stronghold. He reminded me that I couldn't live life missing Fred. I went on as normal as possible, and when little things reminded me of Fred, or there was just a quiet moment, that was when I cried. That was okay. Sadness is good. It simply isn't okay to be sad all of the time. So lean on James, but know that he needs to lean on you too, otherwise you'll both fall over. When it's too much to lean on each other, that's when you can lean on your family. We let you down, it's true, but I promise, we're all here now. I love you dear, and you're always welcome to come to me for anything._

 _Love, Grandma_

* * *

Rose read her Grandma's letter and wiped the tears from her eyes. She was still sniffling when James came in the door. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Rose showed him the letter. James sat down beside her and put his arm around her as he read. He squeezed her shoulder. "Are you okay, Rose?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I didn't think anyone would understand. But I guess Grandma does, a little."

"So you'll be okay?" repeated James.

"I'm glad to have someone to talk to... besides you of course," replied Rose "but you know this doesn't fix everything. I'm trying to feel better, but it's not easy."

"But you have your family now." pointed out James.

Rose shook her head. "I don't know... everything is different, with them, you know? Before I thought we..." she trailed off.

At once, James suddenly understood. "We were the tightest, closest, most accepting family you had ever heard of."

Rose nodded, and buried her head in his shoulder. "Mum and Dad, Grandma and Grandma, the cousins... everybody promised that we would stick together. We might be horrible to each other sometimes, but if anyone from outside tried to hurt the family, we reacted as one. And we were accepting. Mum passed all that legislation for the rights of magical creatures, Dom ran around like a little tomboy, Victoire and Teddy got married, your Dad was so involved with work sometimes, and you and Fred pulled all those pranks..." she broke off again.

"You don't trust us." said James.

Rose pulled her head up and looked at him. "That's not true! I trust you James, I absolutely trust you. I promise." she assured him seriously.

"I left too." whispered James.

"You left because I said something stupid which helped get us kicked out of our own homes. Maybe it wasn't very smart of you, but it was my fault, mostly." countered Rose. "Besides, you've definitely won back my trust. I love you, James."

"I love you too, Rosie."

"With everyone else though," continued Rose "it's different now. Even Mum treats me differently."

James nodded understandingly. "I know. But you have to understand Rose; this is a big thing for them to accept. Which doesn't mean they shouldn't accept it. But of course your relationship is different. You're going to be a mother now. Normally, relationships change gradually. This, us being pregnant, that's a big change, and it's changed you incredibly, so of course your relationships have changed drastically too."

"Thanks, James." said Rose. "That helps, a little."

"Good. Now, are you ready to go out? I have a surprise for you." announced James.

"That depends. Are we going somewhere special?"

"Special?" repeated James. "Yes. Fancy? No."

She huffed at his lack of help. "Do I look all right, at least?" asked Rose, who was wearing a pale green t-shirt and scruffy shorts that had been altered to cover her protruding belly.

"You're gorgeous." replied James.

Rose smiled indulgently at him, but went into the bedroom anyway and changed into a skirt.

"Okay. Let's go."


	25. Chapter 25

James and Rose arrived in a quaint little town. "Are you ready to eat, or shall we go for a walk?" asked James.

"Eat, I think." replied Rose. "Noah is hungry."

"Okay." agreed James. He took her hand and they walked across the cobblestones into a pub called The Cricketer's Arms.

After they were sipping their drinks, James reached across the table and took Rose's hand. "So, I know we've talked about Eadlyn, but can we talk about Noah?" he asked politely.

"Of course." agreed Rose. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked curiously.

"I dunno." replied James. "Are we ready for this?"

"Having second thoughts, are you?" she teased. He was glad to see her making a joke.

"Second thoughts! I never had first thoughts." James protested.

Luckily, Rose smiled. "I know."

"I mean, I don't feel ready." confessed James. "But I'm not sure that there's anything else I can do. I read all of your books, and..."

Rose interrupted. "You read my books?" she exclaimed.

James was surprised "Yeah, sorry I didn't think you'd mind."

Rose snorted. "Let me rephrase. You read a book?"

Now James understood her amusement, but he didn't join in the laughter. "Hey! I read."

"Mmmhmmm." she agreed, unconvinced.

"Anyway," continued James "I read all the books, but I've never even held a baby before. Have you?"

"A few times. We don't have much experience, but we'll learn quickly, James."

"I just assumed I'd have a chance to practice on someone else's kid before I had my own." admitted James.

"Yes, well, now when our cousins start having kids, we'll be the experts." said Rose.

"Our cousins!" exclaimed James. "Having kids! I don't even want to think about it."

"Well, you'd better, because Victoire told me she and Teddy are trying for a baby." revealed Rose.

"You kept that quiet."

"It's a private thing." replied Rose. "I'm not sure who else she's told. But you're right, I shouldn't have kept it from you."

"It's okay." James assured her. "So anyway, Noah."

"Yes?"

"Well, I don't know. What's the plan, exactly?" asked James.

"I go into labour on Saturday." replied Rose promptly. She had been reminding herself of the plan all day in her head. "We'll meet Noah and Eadlyn. When we're ready, we'll go to my Mum and Dad's house with Noah. The family's all going to drop by for a few short moments, and then we go back to the flat."

"That sounds a lot less complicated than it is." said James. "I know we already agreed on everything, but remind me again what we decided?"

"Neither set of our parents are coming to St. Mungo's, because it could take quite a while, and there could be quite a gap. And Noah has to go for surgery after anyway. Also, if all four of them show up there the press will mob the place. They're not expecting me to give birth for another month, at least." Rose reminded him. "We decided to see Eadlyn. We'll... have some time with her... before..." she broke off in a harsh sob, but muffled it in her napkin.

"Before she has to leave." James finished for her. He squeezed her hand. "It'll be okay, Rose."

She nodded. "Then everyone will have a chance to meet Noah, and we'll have a few quiet days together. You're not taking more time off, because we need the money."

"Right," agreed James. "...and then what?"

"We haven't made any other plans James." replied Rose, slightly bemused.

"I know, it's just, don't we have to make all sorts of decisions? We've got the house, but am I just going to work at the restaurant forever?" asked James.

"Sorry." said Rose "I guess we should have been talking more. I've been thinking about all of these things, and I assumed you had too. You know I'm going to look after Noah. Then I thought we would put him in school."

"School?" asked James.

"Muggle school. I mentioned this to you before, James. Anyway, yes. I think it will be good for Noah, and besides, if he's at school I'll be able to work. He can't start until he's four, and I'll be old enough to get a proper job by then."

"Okay." agreed James. He was suddenly nervous.

Rose smiled at him. "It'll be okay, James. We'll just take it one step at a time."

* * *

Rose and James stepped back out onto the cobblestones. The sun was beginning to set. "Let's go for a walk." suggested James. Rose agreed, and they set off.

He led her through the town and down a hedge-lined lane. Walking hand in hand, they strolled through the countryside, and shortly turned down a narrow path. It made its way around a cemetery, and finally up a hill that overlooked the town.

Once atop the hill, Rose asked to stop. "Sorry. Climbing is harder than it used to be." she explained, with her hand resting on her belly. "Just let me catch my breath."

James was concerned. "Are you alright? You're not giving birth, are you?"

Rose laughed, losing her breath again. "No," she panted "I'm fine. Or I will be, in a minute."

James bent over her worriedly. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"James." said Rose, recovering "I'm fine. Pregnant women run marathons and climb mountains, and do all sorts of insane things. I just need a little break." She sat down.

James crouched down beside her. "I know other people have babies Rose. But no one has ever had our baby before, and that makes all the difference." He kissed her forehead gently, but she pulled him down for another long kiss.

When they broke for air, Rose looked out into the distance. The distant hills were silhouetted against the setting sun. "It's beautiful here." whispered Rose. "Where are we?"

"You'll see." said James. He helped her up, and they strolled back towards the town. Once there, they headed off down a different lane, and soon arrived at a familiar little house.


	26. Chapter 26

James unlocked the door and they went inside. Passing through the kitchen, James stopped at the door to the second bedroom and swung it open. Rose gasped.

"James! What is this?"

James grinned. "Welcome to Noah's nursery."

Rose took in the draped crib, and the high dresser, and the big comfy armchair, and the little white bookcase, and the frames on the walls, and tears sprang to her eyes. It was a traditional nursery, and the colours were all soft blues and greys and sepia. Lace curtains hung at the window, and there were stuffed animals scattered about the room. "Oh, James." breathed Rose. "I didn't know you could do this. I love it."

James pulled her into a one-armed hug and began pointing out features of the room. "See, the dresser can double as the change table. I already put most of Noah's things in it. Then I found this lamp, I thought it was pretty cool. Oh, and look at the photographs."

The first photo had Rose and James as little kids playing in a mud puddle. She was all arms and legs, her wavy auburn hair flying in the wind. James' raven hair too, was sticking up, but that was to be expected. He could never make it lie flat. As Rose watched, photo James tried to smear the young Rose with mud, but she ducked and got him in the face instead. They turned and waved at Rose. "We were so young." she whispered.

The other photos were more recent, but none of them had both Rose and James. Rose commented on this fact. "I know." replied James. "Say cheese." He pulled a camera out from one of the drawers and stepped beside her. There was a click and the photo magically shot out.

In this photo, Rose was crying, but she had a big smile on her face. James was simultaneously focusing on holding the camera and also gazing lovingly down at Rose. She turned her face up towards him, and they kissed briefly.

"Perfect." said the real James. He slid the photo into an empty frame and fixed it back onto the wall.

* * *

Back in the living room, James and Rose curled up on the couch. "I love the nursery James," said Rose "but if we can't afford the house yet..."

He stopped her. "The house is ours."

"I know, but we need the crib back at the flat until we can move in..." This time Rose was stopped by the look in James' eye. "What's going on?"

"I made enough money, and I bought the house." explained James.

"But how?" asked Rose.

"Well, you know we were pretty close. It was just a matter of galleons. Anyway, it was payday last week, and I managed to get an early advance on the next one. We had just enough money, so I did it! I know it might have been smart to wait, but I know this was important to you Rose." replied James.

"We live here." said Rose, stunned. "This is our house."

"This is our home." agreed James. "We're basically broke, and I had a six month lease on the apartment, so we still have to pay rent until the first of August, but we'll manage."

Rose nodded. "We don't have to leave." she realized.

"We never have to leave." agreed James.

"Well, in that case..."

Rose turned to James and kissed him. He responded eagerly, but backed away when she started to tug at his shirt. "Rose, what are you doing?"

"I want you." she replied.

"But... yesterday? You said we weren't doing that." James accused.

"I know. But it's okay now." She leaned towards him.

He took a deep breath and held her off. "No, it's not. Why are you suddenly all right with this?"

Rose frowned at him. "It's not sudden James. Well, it is, but it's not random. You just did something really wonderful for me. Can't I do the same for you?"

"Hey." said James "I don't want you to feel like you have to have sex with me. I told you, that's not why I'm here."

Rose sighed and sat back. "Yesterday I was caught up in thinking about Eadlyn." she explained "But you've helped me through that, and so did Grandma. I'm not saying I'm over it; over her. I love her and miss her. But I'm going to be happy. Like I said, you just made me really happy, and I didn't feel guilty. I love you, and I want you. I'm not just agreeing to sex for you, I'm doing it for me too."

"You're ready for this?" asked James. "It's okay to say no."

"I'm ready." said Rose. "I can't promise that I won't have bad days ever again, but hopefully they'll be less frequent. And today isn't one of them."

"Okay." replied James. "Okay."

He laid her gently on the couch and kissed her slowly. The first time they had made love, it had been, well, an accident. The second time, they were both alone, and scared. They had each needed somebody to hold onto. Each time after that had been passionate. But this time, something was different. This time was gentle and sweet. They were gentle, because they had already been through so much pain and neither wanted to hurt the other. They were sweet, because that was how they loved each other; sweetly. These were two people who had found each other, even if it hadn't been in a normal way. They were like soulmates. They spent the night exploring each other, discovering new things. They had been drawn together, and now they enforced that bond, so that even if it somehow broke, they never would. At the height of pleasure, they whispered each other's names.


	27. Chapter 27

Author's Note: Remember, I have not studied medicine. Hopefully everything is accurate enough. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

\- daredyoutokissme

* * *

Rose woke up before James. They had fallen asleep together on the couch, so she slowly extracted herself from his embrace and moved to the rocking chair. Rose placed a hand under her stomach, cradling it. "Today's the big day." she whispered. They weren't due at St. Mungo's until four, so Rose was pondering what else they should do today. She knew what James would say, if she asked him. Rose smiled to herself. Last night had been wonderful, but she wanted a little break. Rose decided to investigate the house.

The living room was mostly in order, but it needed decorating. The mantel and walls were bare. The kitchen was in a similar state. James hadn't moved any of the dishes in yet, and the cabinets were empty of food, so they would have to go out for breakfast. He had however put a freezing charm on one cupboard and a cooling charm on another, so they could bring the food in whenever they liked.

Rose moved into the nursery. James had moved all of Noah's stuff into there, but Rose spent a few moments reorganizing and tidying. She found herself getting excited about bringing him home.

As she entered the master bedroom, Rose realized that what they really needed to do today was finish moving in. None of their clothes were there yet, and they needed to be settled before the baby arrived.

Rose returned to the main area and woke James. "Come on." she said. "Let's go to the flat and have breakfast, then we can start packing."

* * *

At five to four, James and Rose arrived at the hospital. Hannah and Victoire were waiting for them. "Are you ready for this?" asked Victoire as she hugged her cousins.

"I hope so." replied Rose.

"Go ahead and get changed." said Hannah. "When you get back we're just going to do a quick check to make sure we're good to go."

"Why wouldn't we be good to go?" asked James worriedly, once the couple had returned.

"We need to make sure Noah's lungs are fully developed. That usually happens at 34 weeks, which is what we're at now. We were basically there at your last check-up Rose, but it's good to make sure." explained Hannah calmly.

Rose clambered onto the bed, and Hannah began the examination.

"Alright." she said momentarily. "We're good to go. As I explained on your last visit, I think Noah is unlikely to need to stay in the hospital. He is a preterm baby, but he looks like he's going to be okay. I think Eadlyn will be born first, so you can have time with her while Noah is in surgery."

Rose nodded, and James moved to take her hand.

"So. Are we ready?" asked Hannah.

"Yes." stated Rose firmly.

So together she and James followed Hannah to the maternity ward, to begin the start of a lifetime.

* * *

It wasn't until several hours later that Hannah finally managed to induce labour. Now they were timing the contractions, and waiting until it was time to push.

"I didn't know it would take this long." said James. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow to take Noah to your parents' house."

"It could be a while for anything to actually start happening." cautioned Hannah. "I was hoping for things to go faster, but you never know. It's probably good that you two get some rest before seeing anyone."

"Good point." agreed James. "We just sort if wanted our parents to meet Noah as soon as possible."

"Tell them to come," panted Rose "when it's time."

"You sure?" asked James hesitantly. "We agreed – "

"I don't care what we agreed." exclaimed Rose forcefully as another contraction hit. "Just tell them... when it's ti-ahhhh!"

"Breathe, Rose, just breathe." instructed Hannah. "Don't push yet."

"Okay, Rosie, if that's what you want I'll go contact them and tell them to be prepared." James complied.

"This is so exciting Rose!" gushed Victoire. "I can't believe I'm helping deliver your babies."

"Yes, well, just don't expect me to return the favour." replied Rose. They both laughed. "But really, thanks. It means a lot to me."

"Hey, you're welcome." replied Victoire.

"Though I wish we could get on with the process." continued Rose. "Why anyone would do this voluntarily, I can't understand."

"You will." said Hannah. "As soon as I lay your child in your arms."

* * *

James watched as the clock ticked its way to eleven thirty. Hannah was watching the clock too, while Victoire reminded Rose to breathe as she had another contraction.

"Okay." said Hannah. "It's go time."

"Aggggh! Finally!" cried Rose.

"Seriously?" asked James. "Oh my gosh. This is happening. I'm going to be a father! What am I saying? I can't be a father. I'm eighteen!"

"Rose," Hannah spoke over James as he continued his incessant rambling. "Why didn't you tell us he hadn't had this crisis yet?"

"Uh, I didn't know, I guess." replied Rose.

"James." interrupted Victoire. "Now is not a good time for this. If you haven't psyched yourself up to be a father yet, you'd better do it quickly."

"Right." agreed James. "Okay. No, okay. I've got this. We've got this. Phew."

"Ahhhh!" yelled Rose.

"Here we go!" said Hannah. She examined Rose. "Wait for it. Wait for it. Now! Push!"

"Euggh!" exclaimed Rose.

"Good job!" said Hannah. "Now wait."

"Keep breathing Rose." added Victoire.

"Okay, push!" said Hannah.

They continued this pattern for several minutes until Hannah announced that she could see the head.

"Come on Rose, push!"

Rose was a sweaty, exhausted, mess. James was both amazed and horrified. Her hand gripped his tightly. "Does that hurt?" she asked.

"Yes." replied James.

"Good!" cried Rose. "You suck!"

"Push, Rose, push!"

"Ahhhh!" yelled Rose.

"Here she is." said Hannah.

She brought Eadlyn up to Rose's chest.

"She's beautiful." said James.

Rose was too exhausted to say anything, but she cried softly and smiled.

"Rose," said Hannah. "You can keep cuddling Eadlyn, but you need to deliver the placenta. Just push when I say to."

Rose did as told. Suddenly she felt dizzy. Something moved inside of her. She heard Hannah yelling, and then she blacked out.


	28. Chapter 28

James watched in panic as Victoire swiftly took Eadlyn away while a team of Healers poured into the room. They cast a spell on Rose, and then they started to cut her open. He was too shocked to try to stop them. Minutes later he heard a cry and one of the healers emerged from the mob with a squalling baby, which was immediately taken out of the room.

"She's losing too much blood!" yelled Hannah.

James was horror stricken. He had no idea what was going on. After all this, was Rose going to die? There was no way he could do this without her. Suddenly James realized how much he really, truly, loved Rose Weasley. James knew he loved her, she was the mother of his children, but he abruptly realized that he couldn't live without her. What was he supposed to do if she died?

He would have to be strong, he decided. He couldn't give Noah up. If Rose wanted to keep him, then James would raise Noah for her. Even if James had to do it alone. No! Rose couldn't be dying. It wasn't possible.

James found himself being escorted out of the room. He was led down the hallway to a waiting area, by a woman that he realized was Victoire. She shot a patronus out of her wand, and then pushed James into a chair. She was saying something, but James couldn't tell what it was. He got the idea that he was supposed to wait there.

The next thing he knew, Hermione and Ron were racing towards him, with James' own parents hot on their heels. Hermione began an assault of questions, while Ron took James by the shoulders and shook him.

"James! James!"

"James!"

James shook his head to try and clear it.

"What's going on?" asked Harry.

It took James a minute to know what his Dad was saying. "I don't know." he replied finally. "They haven't told me anything."

"What happened?" asked Hermione.

"Eadlyn was born, and then Rose delivered the placenta, and then I'm not sure what happened. I think she was unconscious, and then all these healers showed up... that's really all I know."

"What about Noah?" insisted Hermione.

"Oh, yeah, I saw him, but they took him away. I don't know if he's okay." replied James.

"Come on, Hermione." consoled Ron. "Let's sit down. They'll let us now as soon as they can."

"Sit down!" exclaimed Hermione. "How can you sit down?!" she began anxiously pacing the waiting room.

Ron decided to leave her be and take his own advice, and Ginny followed suit. Harry however, turned to James.

"Are you alright, son?"

"Yeah... no. I don't..." James suddenly burst into tears. Harry pulled him into a bone crushing hug. "Dad." whispered James through his tears. "What if... she dies? ...I don't think I could stand it."

"I don't think any of us could stand it. But we're here for you James. It'll... be alright." Harry said unconvincingly.

"What now?" asked James.

"We wait." replied Harry.

* * *

Rose awoke to find her family crowded around her hospital bed. "What happened?" she asked.

Hannah was there too, and she reached out to reassure the young girl. Hannah took Rose's hand. "Don't worry Rose, everything's fine. After you delivered Eadlyn, Noah's placenta detached. That can happen sometimes, after the birth of a first twin, because of the sudden decrease in uterine volume. You went unconscious, and we had to get Noah out as soon as possible, so we did surgery. Unfortunately, you were losing too much blood, so we had to do a partial hysterectomy. You'll need a couple of days to recover."

Rose attempted to take this in. "Where's Noah?"

"He's okay. You'll be able to see him soon. We're just resolving a few... problems. Remember I told you about that?" Hannah asked, and Rose nodded. "Right. It's a bit of a long list, but he's going to grow up happy and healthy."

"There was... his spine." recalled Rose. She was still a little hazy.

"Yes." confirmed Hannah. "Luckily, he has spina bifida occulta. It means that even though his spinal column is incompletely formed, it shouldn't affect him at all."

"His heart." Rose remembered.

"He just had surgery for that. Noah has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and aortic atresia. We created a new aortic valve, and the other surgeries are to help his heart work properly." explained Hannah.

"Remember, Rose?" added James. "He needs two more surgeries."

Rose nodded. It was coming back to her now.

"There are a few other things as well. He has a cleft lip, club feet, and complete heterochromia." announced Hannah. "We've fixed his lip and feet."

Rose was momentarily worried. "What's heterochromia?" she asked anxiously.

Hannah smiled. "That means he has two different coloured eyes. Would you like to see?"

"Yes, please." said Rose eagerly.

The door opened, and Victoire entered with the baby.

"Ohhhh!" squealed Rose.

"Just remember, both Mummy and baby are recovering." cautioned Hannah.

Rose carefully cradled her baby against her shoulder. "James, what are you doing? Come here." she ordered.

James sat gingerly beside Rose on the bed. Together, they watched as their son slowly opened his eyes and blinked up at them. Although Rose had brown eyes and James' were a lighter brown, Noah had one hazel eye and one bright blue one. He lifted his head up and looked at his parents.

"How is he doing that?" exclaimed James, while Rose cooed over Noah.

"Premature babies' heads don't weigh as much. This is normal." Hannah reassured them.

After a few more minutes Rose spoke. "Would you like to hold him, James?"

"Uh, yeah sure." agreed James.

Rose carefully passed Noah into James' arms. The minute they touched, James suddenly felt a strong and irrevocable bond. This was his son. He had made this child. Even though James barely knew him, he realized he would do anything for his baby.

"Why... why do I love him so much?" wondered James.

"Congratulations, James." said Harry. "You're a father."

James felt a sudden comradery with his parents. He was a father now too. He had entered that secret, seemingly all-knowing society of parents.

"James?" asked Rose. "Can I hold him again?"

James reluctantly handed Noah over. He never, ever, wanted to let go of his baby, but after the hell Rose had just been through, it was only fair. Besides, he had something he wanted to do.

James got up, and strode over to his own father. He gave Harry a bear hug. "Hey, Grandpa."

"Rose?" asked Hannah. "Would you like to feed Noah?"

Rose agreed eagerly, and the newly made grandparents exited into the corridor to give them some privacy.

* * *

A few days later, both Noah and Rose had recovered sufficiently.

"This is so exciting Rose!" squealed Lily as they packed all of Rose's things into her bag. "I can't believe you're a mother. And I'm an aunt!"

"And a godmother." Rose agreed. "How's the godfather doing?"

Albus looked up from the chair where he was cradling Noah. "Fine. But packing is taking a long time. None of this stuff is important anyway. Except Grandma's baking. Leave the dirty clothes. Take the cannoli."

For some reason Grandma Hermione found this statement rather funny.

"Well, we're all done packing, anyway. Now give me my baby." demanded Rose. "Hello Noah. Mummy missed you." she cooed.

At that moment, James entered. "Okay the car's here. You ready Rosie?"

"Yes, I think so." replied Rose. The group made their way down the corridor. "I'm glad we got a car. I wouldn't want to try to apparate or Floo with the baby."

"Here we are." said James as they approached the entrance to Saint Mungo's. "The press are outside, but it's pulled up right in front."

"I'm ready." said Rose. She shifted Noah to take James' hand.

Together they stepped forward, and they took their baby home.


	29. Chapter 29

The sun is setting on the hamlet of Elbow, just as it had been all those months ago. Many families are settling in for the night. But if you travel down one narrow lane, you would come upon a tiny house with an even tinier front garden. In this garden there are three people. A teenage girl, tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear as she crouches down on the flagstones. A boy, nearing adulthood, stretched out on a wrought iron bench, casually mussing his raven black hair with one hand. And if you were to peer over the hedge that borders the garden, there is a baby, perhaps four months old, lying on a play mat. As you watch, he pushes himself up with his hands, then rolls over and reaches out to grab a toy the girl is offering.

You're probably confused as to how these three people come to be together. If you have an eye for detail, you might notice how the fuzz on the baby's head resembles the girl's hair, or how the boy twitches protectively whenever the baby makes a sudden move. You might see how the girl seems to have a little extra weight. You may come to realize that these two must be the baby's parents. Then, you might notice that the boy appears to have something in his pocket.

* * *

Rose scooped up Noah and settled onto the bench beside James. She leaned back against his shoulder.

"This is nice." Rose commented.

"Yes." agreed James. "I thought... I thought every day would be a struggle. Not that we would never be happy, or that we wouldn't love Noah, but I thought it would be so hard. All the time."

"Me too." said Rose. "But I love it."

"So do I, surprisingly." replied James. "I mean, I thought I might want to have kids one day, but really far in the future. After I had a chance to be young and free. But I don't see how that could possibly be any better than this."

"We've had some tough times, but now everything's just perfect." said Rose. She smiled down at the little face peeking up at her.

"It is. Because of you." said James.

"Aw, shucks." laughed Rose.

"No really. There's no way I could have done this with any of the other cousins. I love you Rose Weasley, and you and Noah mean the world to me. This was a pretty crazy way to find each other, and a long hard journey that we had to take while doing so, but I got through it because of you. You are the mother of my wonderful son, and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. What would you think about that?" questioned James.

"I love you too, James Potter. And I can't think of anything I would love more than to spend the rest of my life with you." replied Rose.

James removed his arm from Rose. "In that case," he said, dropping down to the flagstones and producing a small, square, box from his pocket "Will you marry me Rosie?"

Rose's eyes widened and slowly her face lit up in a small from ear to ear. "Yes."

James sprung up from his knees and kissed Rose, with Noah sandwiched between them, just how it should be. Finally, they had once again found peace and happiness.

All was well.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing everyone! I don't know what I'll be working on next but I've got lots of ideas. Let me know what you thought of the story and I'll make sure to check out your work. Thank you!


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